Green Eyes
by Aroon
Summary: OV Gruene Augen Harry's first year. Harry did not just lose some points in his first potion lesson, but also received detention. See what could have happen, when Severus became aware of some differences between Harry and his father James Potter.
1. detention

**Green Eyes.**

This story is a translation of my story „Grüne Augen"

I want to thank two people at this point, who helped me to make this readably.  
First, my father-in-law, he is English teacher and helped me with the grammar  
And second, JadeSullivan, author of the story "Emerald Eyes" She helped me with some terms and checked the story in form and content.

Authors Note: This is a alternative story to Harry's first year in Hogwarts. You'll have to read the first book to keep up with the story, because I do not recite events of the book.

Summary: Harry did not just lose some points in his first potion lesson, but also received detention. See what could have happen, when Severus became aware of some differences between Harry and his father James Potter.

**Detention **

In long strides Severus Snape hastened through the corridors of Hogwarts back to his classroom. Dumbledore had ordered the professor to his office while he was in the midst of giving a detention. Severus hated to leave students unattended; in his absence they easily came up with stupid ideas. And in particular, he trusted this student the least. Who knew what he would do meanwhile? _Arrogant little brat…_

As he reached the corridor to his classroom, he felt relieved to see that his door was still in place. '_So nothing exploded'_ he thought. And there was no suspect smell in the air.

Severus considered if he should burst or sneak into the classroom to catch the boy flat-footed in case he was up to no good.

The Professor decided in favour of the quiet way and opened the classroom door as quietly as possible. The classroom was still intact and all the bins, boxes, glasses and books were exactly where they should be. Even the boy was at his place but his head was lowered on his arms on the desk and … the _brat_ was sound asleep.

_D__id the boy really think he could sleep during his detention?_

X

Harry woke up startled. He had not intended to fall asleep. He just wanted to relax his eyes a bit, before the professor returned. Sleepily he looked around and immediately noticed the looming shadow above him.

"Professor!" he squeaked, frightened.

"So. You think you have permission to sleep through your detention?"

"N… no, Sir!"

But Professor Snape ignored the boy and went on, "You think because I'm absent you can ditch your chore?"

Harry's eyes grew wide, "B… but, Sir. I'm finished!"

For a short moment the professor fell silent, but then he asked in disbelief "Finished?" and noticed only now, that the cauldrons where missing. "Where are the cauldrons?" he asked suspiciously.

Harry pointed to the shelf where he had put them and said, "This shelf was empty. I thought perhaps it was for the cauldrons."

The Professor raised an eyebrow and went over to the shelf in question to inspect the cauldrons. They all shone and twinkled brightly. There wasn't a single fingerprint anywhere. Severus knitted his brows to glare at the boy.

With a deadly, low voice he asked, "Do you really take me for a fool?"

Harry cringed. He had no idea what he could have done wrong.

"I… I don't understand!" he said stuttering.

Severus drew himself up to his full height and said in a cold whisper, "If I say _without magic_ than I mean _without magic_!"

Harry gulped, but then he shook his head. "I didn't use magic!"

"Don't… Lie... To... Me!" the Professor hissed.

Harry shrank a few inches but he still shook his head. His eyes filled with angry tears. "Sir, please. I -" but he was interrupted by Snape.

"Then how do you account for the fact that there is no single fingerprint on the cauldrons?"

"A fingerprint is a sign of messy work," the boy passively recited. He looked up at his professor, "My aunt taught me. She hates it if I leave fingerprints. I put the cauldrons with the polishing cloth on the shelf." Harry pointed at the chair next to the shelf where the rag was hanging over the backrest.

"I didn't know where to put it," he replied with a shrug as he realised it was still hanging there.

Severus didn't know if he could believe the story.

_Who __could clean twelve mucky cauldrons to mirror- finish in less than forty-five minutes? And how can that arrogant, spoiled little brat know about polishing? Certainly he never had to do that at home. So what's this rubbish about his aunt?_

There was just one way to affirm the truth. With a few strides forward, Severus walked up to the boy and said, "Give me your wand!"

Frightened Harry looked up. Harry could not really handle his wand expertly, but he felt better, stronger when he just touched it. And he felt uncomfortable with the idea of having to leave his wand with the professor. But there was no way out. Snape held out his hand and waited.

Harry gulped and pulled his wand out but he did not hand it over.

"Sir, please believe me, I didn't…"

But again Harry was interrupted "Potter. Give me your wand. Now!" Severus was not in the mood to listen to any sheepish excuses, and by the look on Potter's face, the man believed him to be guilty.

_Why else would he hesitate to hand__ over his wand?_

With a fast movement, Severus yanked Harry's wand and out of the boy's hand. Then he gave the wood a small flick with his index and golden sparks shot out of the tip.

Harry was quite fascinated. These were the same sparks he had seen when he had touched this wand for the first time at Ollivanders.

At the time, Harry had felt the magic in his wand and he concentrated hard as he held it, but he still was not able to cast a single spell.

"Have you ever cast a spell with it?" Severus asked puzzled and brought Harry's mind back to the present.

"No!" the boy replied in irritation, "I don't know how…"

But Harry was also beginning to feel ashamed. He was probably the only wizard in this school who had never ever conjured anything in his life - apart from the strange incidents in his childhood.

Severus studied the boy in front of him and as Harry looked up he suddenly realised that the boy was telling the truth. It was strange…the most famous boy in the wizarding world did not know how to cast a single spell.

As the professor gave Harry his wand back, the boy's eyes grew larger, "You're giving it back to me?" he asked astonished.

"No one has conjured any magic with this wand. Why should I keep it? Or have you hidden a second wand in your sleeve?"

Harry shook his head. "No, Sir."

While he took back is wand, his ears turned a brilliant shade of red. "Thank you…" he whispered.

Silence fell between the two.

Severus looked at the shiny cauldrons again. _How did the boy do that at such a speed and perfection? _

"Sir?" a small voice asked.

"Yes, Potter?" Severus said and looked back at the boy.

"How did you do that? How did you know that nobody had cast a spell with my wand?"

"_Priori Incantatem_. It shows all spells, charms and curses that were cast with someone's wand. It tells you the history of a wand. And your wand doesn't tell much, except that it had been handed out over the counter and had found its master."

Severus did not know why he had told him that. But the boy looked interested and eager for knowledge. His bright green eyes shone with innocence. And it almost hurt to look at them.

_Why __did Potter have to have his mother's eyes?_

"Can you teach me that spell?" Harry asked sheepishly but looked straight at Severus. His eyes full of hope.

Severus felt uncomfortable. _Since when has Potter looked at me like that? And what will the boy ever need this particular spell for? _

"No," Snape said firmly.

The gleam in Harry's eyes faded. He nodded once and then put his wand back in his pocket.

The professor sighed. He knew exactly why the boy had asked him to teach him this spell. Harry simply wanted be able to cast _one_ spell, so he said "Priori Incartatem is advanced magic. But I can show you another spell. A simple one."

_Am I cursed__? Why did I say that? It's not my job to teach this boy spells._

Harry looked up "Really?"

Severus flicked his wand and the torches on the wall went dark. Now it was pitch-black in the classroom. You couldn't even see your hand in front of your face. The Slytherins were always impressed by that spell.

And indeed, Severus heard the boy gasp.

But then there was a fearful "No!" followed by a crash and a thud.

Severus released the light with a second flick of his wand and saw an overturned chair. The boy lay on the floor pure terror in his eyes. Harry tried to stand up, but he was still very shaky.

"What was that?" the professor asked a little bemused.

Harry was ashamed; he looked down at his feet. "I don't like darkness," he whispered.

"I'm sorry. I didn't intend to scare you,"Severus said and wondered why he really felt sorry.Shouldn't he make fun of this? Shouldn't he humiliate the boy, like Potter's father had done with him?_ Wasn't that the real reason behind this detention? Just to humiliate Harry and make him look small?' _

But Harry was so different from what the professor had expected. He was not arrogant. Not even a bit. He was exactly the opposite. He did not have much self-confidence. There was nothing left in the boy to humble.

Again, complete silence filled the room. Harry slowly looked up. He waited for the mockery, for the amused commentary, but it did not come. It was so stupid to fear darkness. He knew that. He was eleven, not five, but there was nothing he could do about that.

"Very well," Severus said suddenly, "I think this detention should come to an end. I'll escort you to Gryffindor's Tower. It's late, and if you are too tired to keep your eyes open during detention, then I ought to accompany you to make sure you make it to your room."

Harry could not believe his ears. He considered protesting, saying that he was absolutely able to find his way back by himself. But then he realised that Professor Snape had offered him his accompaniment. Harry was sure the corridors of Hogwarts would be very dark by now, so it would be nice to have someone with him. Finally he nodded.

Severus walked to the door, opened it and waited for the boy to follow him. The professor could not explain why he was doing this. But he did not want Harry to stray through the corridors if the boy was afraid of darkness. He knew how pitch-black certain corridors were at night.

They walked in silence. Harry had a difficult time keeping up with Snape's long strides. But he did not complain. When the professor noticed that the boy was struggling to keep up, he lowered his speed.

The Potter boy was odd Severus admitted to himself. He looked like James, but he was not like his father. He had Lily's eyes, but he was not his mother either. He was … different.

"Sir?" Harry's voice brought Severus back to the present.

"Yes?"

"Why do so many people think I'm special?"

This question took Severus by surprise and he did not know how to answer.

So Harry went on: "They're talking behind my back. They point their fingers at me. They all think that I did a great thing. But I really don't understand. I didn't do anything but survive an attack. I did nothing for that. It just happened. I can't even remember any of that. They all believe I'm a great wizard, but I don't know a single spell. I'm … just Harry. Do you think they're mistaking me for somebody else?"

Severus came to an abrupt halt. The dim light of the moon fell through the window on the boy's face. Big green eyes looked up at him. But above them the lightning scar caught his eyes.

"No. There is no confusion. People are idiots. They love to make someone responsible for world-shaking incidents. They can't accept that there are things that just happen. They need someone to blame or to idolise. The murder of your parents went down in history because you survived and brought an end to a long war. You are the only one who survived the killing curse."

Shaking his head Harry said, "That's stupid!"

"Yes, it is. And I have no intention of going along with their stupidity!" Severus confessed.

"You're the only one…" Harry answered with a frail smile.

Severus did not respond.

As they continued their walk back to Gryffindor Tower, the professor was astonished that Harry had just complained about being famous._ James wouldn't have done so. He would have been proud if he had been as famous as his son is now. _

"It's rather weird," Harry suddenly said and Severus cast a glance at him, not knowing what the boy meant. "So many people know so much about me. They know more about me than I do myself."

"Nonsense. Nobody knows more about you, than you do," the professor disagreed.

"But Hermione told me that people can read about me in books. So every wizard who reads these books knows about me. Just a few weeks ago, I learned that I am a wizard and my parents were murdered by an evil, dark wizard. My aunt and my uncle had always told me they had died in a car crash."

Severus could not believe his ears. _Why would they lie to the boy?_

"But didn't your magic sometimes break out? Normally there are magical incidents when wizard children get upset or experience other strong emotions. Most of it is raw, uncontrolled magic," the professor informed.

For a moment the boy fell silent, but then he said in a faint voice, "I didn't know what it was. I didn't know how I did it, but Uncle Vernon always got really angry when something weird happened. He called me _freak_ and grounded me for weeks. I was so afraid. I didn't want it to happen again. I didn't want to annoy my uncle. I didn't want to be a freak. But I couldn't help it. I never knew when it would happen again. I didn't know that it was magic and that I was a wizard. I didn't know that there were other people like me. That's why I'm sure the others know more about me than I do… Because they've always known I am a wizard, whereas, at the same time, my uncle lectured me about magic not existing."

Severus remained silent. He realised he had really misjudged the boy. Harry was anything but spoiled. The professor became more and more convinced that there was something completely wrong at the boy's home. Was it possible that Harry had been neglected? Or even worse, abused? He would keep an eye on that and would have a chat with professor Dumbledore about these relatives of Harry's soon.

"Nevertheless, Potter, I'm absolutely certain that nobody can learn about who you really are just by reading books!" Severus remarked.

"Yeah, but they believe they know who I am. And they expect… well… I don't know what they expect from me," Harry said and dropped his head.

"Don't listen to their babble. It's not relevant what people believe to know. You shouldn't wrack your brain about that."

Harry nodded in response.

---

As Professor Snape and Harry turned off into a very dark corridor, the professor noticed Harry looking around anxiously. And then a thought hit him. _If the Morphe Negro charm wasn't impressive to the boy, then perhaps the Lumos charm will be. _

Silently he took out his wand and cast the spell under his breath. Bright light immediately shot out of the wand and lit up the dark shadows of the corridor.

"Wow!" Harry was amazed.

"It's a simple spell. You just hold your wand in front of you and give it a small flick. The word is _lumos_."

"Lumos?" Harry repeated inquiringly.

Severus nodded.

Harry pulled out his wand and did as instructed. With a timid voice he said "lumos" but nothing happened.

"Potter, you have to mean it! You need more confidence. Try again and imagine the light before you say the spell!"

Harry took a deep breath. He concentrated on the light he wanted to cast and then repeated the spell.

A small glint arose at the tip of his wand. It was nothing compared with the bright light his professor had conjured. But Harry beamed.

Severus gave him a short nod. "To extinguish the light you simply say _nox_" The light of Severus' wand immediately vanished. Just the small gleam of Harry's wand remained.

"Nox." Severus heard the boy's voice and the corridor went completely dark again. Shortly after that Harry said "lumos" again. This time in a much more assertive way. And now there was a real light coming from Harry's wand.

"Nox." It was dark again.

"Lumos!" the light was back. The more often Harry cast the spell the brighter his wand shone. It was really hard to say who beamed more, Harry or his wand.

Severus had a difficult time not smiling along with the boy. But he had to live up to his reputation. He had to keep the distance between himself and Harry. They had already gotten too close on this short trip through the castle.

_What if the boy starts to like me? That's all I need. __Then my image of the evil and cold teacher will be ruined. _His own thought appalled him. _No I have to put an end to this! _Severus needed Harry to understand that he was still the bad guy, whom these Gryffindors hated to their heart's content.

The game with "nox" and "lumos" went on. And although Harry's light was still not as bright as Severus' there was a clear improvement on Harry's part. And deep inside of the professor's heart, no matter how hard he tried to ignore it, he felt proud of the fact that it had been he who had taught the boy his first spell.

"Here we are," Severus said as they finally reached the portrait hole to Gryffindor's common room.

Harry blinked in puzzlement. He had not realised they had got that far. He smiled sheepishly and then dropped his head.

"I assume you will find the way to your bed?" Snape suggested in a half-hearted sneer.

Harry blushed but fortunately in the dim light of his wand it was not really visible that his ears had turned a deep shade of red.

"Yeah, erm… thanks, erm… thank you, sir" but than Harry looked up and met the professor's eyes. "Thank you for listening and for that cool spell," Harry said in a firm voice.

"You are welcome. But I hope you won't forget what this detention was for!" Severus had the impression that this evening didn't seem like a detention any more.

"Because I didn't answer your questions correctly?" Harry asked and tried to remember. "But Sir, I really looked in these books before school, but I didn't know I had to know all that material before school had even started! I thought we would learn all that during the year."

Severus cursed to himself. Maybe _he_ should not have forgotten why he had given this detention to the boy in the first place. Then he would have remembered that it had been completely unfair. But at the moment when he had assigned the detention he was certain that Harry was just a spoiled, arrogant little brat, like his father, and needed a clear reminder of where his place was.

"No, it wasn't for the lack of answers," the professor finally spoke "but you need to know that I will not tolerate any impertinence in my classroom!"

"Impertinence?"

"Yes. Like your suggestion to question someone other than you!"

"But I… I didn't mean to be cheeky. I thought maybe you hadn't seen …"

"Ms. Granger with her hand toward the ceiling?" professor Snape interrupted.

"Yeah, well… I didn't understand why you needed the answers from me when she was next to me and obviously _did_ know the answers. I'm sorry…" Harry looked miserable.

As the boy looked up again and locked Severus' gaze, the professor could see the plea for forgiveness. And it hurt him, as he knew the boy had not meant to be cheeky at all. He was far too shy for that. Harry gave the perfect impression of a house elf that had done something wrong by accident.

"Maybe it wasn't exactly fair of me," Severus said before he could stop himself. "I _did_ know you would not be able to answer my questions. I just wanted to show you that I wouldn't treat you in any special way."

"Oh," Harry said thoughtfully "But I don't expect any special treatment!"

"Yes. I know. _Now_ I know."

After that they remained silent for a while.

"Sir?" Harry finally asked.

"Yes?"

"You aren't really as bad as the others say."

_Great Severus! …There goes your reputation!_

"I have to keep up with the way I act in public. And as potions master I have to watch out and keep everybody in line to prevent explosions. I hope you know that everything that has happened tonight has to be kept just between the two of us. Is that clear?"

Harry smiled knowingly, "Of course, professor. I understand. You don't want to give up your evil-potions-master-image. But as for me, I haven't met many adults who have given me the feeling that they understand me. But you… you seem to…"

Severus nodded. He did. He could understand this small boy better than he intended. But nobody should ever know how close he had gotten with this boy in just one evening.

"Thank you for the company," Harry whispered. And before Severus registered what exactly he had just heard, the boy went to the portrait and gave the password.

Just before the portrait-hole door snapped shut, Harry looked back over his shoulder. Severus did not expect this so he did not have the time to wash his face of emotion. There was an undefined sadness in Severus' eyes.

As the door closed behind Harry, the boy looked at the inner side of the door for a long moment. He knew it was just this one evening. He knew there would not be any repetition. For sure, his professor had more important things to do than to babysit Harry. But still it was the first time for Harry that he appreciated the company of an adult. He felt safe with Snape.

At the outside of the portrait hole, Severus stared at the door to Gyffindor's common room. He got goosebumps when Harry looked back at him over his shoulder. The boy was so fragile, but there was a strange force shining from inside. And Severus knew he could trust Harry with their secret. He was proud of the boy but also sad. Harry reminded him far too much of himself.

And there were still many mysteries about Harry Potter. How did he scrub twelve cauldrons at such a speed? Why was he so humble? And how was Harry treated at home?


	2. three headed dog

**Three headed dog**

"Ahhhh!" Four children screamed at the top of their voices. Pure terror shone in their faces. Why would someone keep such a _thing_ like that in a school?

"Run!" Hermione shouted. She was the first who recovered her voice. Ron, Harry and Neville bolted into action and reached the door, squishing their way through at the exact same time. Stuck and in a panic, none of the three boys got the idea to step back and let the others through.

Suddenly, Harry heard a snap and felt a tug on his cloak. He immediately was jerked backwards. Ron and Neville toppled forwards as the passage widened in Harry's absence.

"Harry!" Ron screamed, turning around to help his friend. Latching on to Harry's hand, he pulled with all of his might.

Hermione watched horrified. Feverishly, she wracked her brain over what to do, but no spell came to mind that would be strong enough to put the beast out of action. But then a crazy idea struck her. She drew her wand and pointed it at the head that held Harry's cape in its mouth.

"Hermione, don't! What if you get Harry instead of the beast" Neville wailed.

"Don't worry. I know what I do!" The girl said with more confidence than she was actually feeling. She had no idea if this would work, but she had to give it a try, so she said "_Creato Peppero_!"

"Aaargh!" Harry yelled and closed his eyes. As he inhaled the pepper Hermione had conjured, he began to sneeze violently.

But he wasn't the only one. The Three-headed-dog also sneezed, releasing Harry as it opened its mouth wide. Ron pulled again at Harry's hand and they both toppled forward through the door, which they instantly flung shut behind them.

"Wow, that was close!" Ron exhaled.

"Yeah. Thank you, Her… _haa_… _aaa_… _achoo_!" Harry said in a shaky voice.

"Sorry, but that was the only thing that came to my mind!" the girl apologized.

"No, that was really great!" Harry assured her. However, his knees were still shaky. Harry had no idea how much longer they would carry him.

"Shouldn't we g… go?" Neville asked, still horrified.

"Yeah, let's go!" Ron agreed.

"Everything okay, Harry?" Hermione asked anxiously when she took one look at Harry's face. The boy was pale and leaned heavily against the door.

Harry just nodded weakly.

As the four friends reached the end of the corridor, they suddenly heard shuffling steps.

"Oh, no. That must be Filch!" Hermione moaned.

"Run!" Ron yelled and they instantly set off sprinting.

As they hastened through the corridors away from Filch and the horrible monster of a dog, Harry had difficulty keeping up. Still in shock, his feet refused to run faster. Little by little, he fell behind the others.

As Harry lost sight of his friends, he began to panic and doubled his speed. But suddenly he lost balance and tripped, landing on his stomach and gliding a short way across the polished floor. As he skidded to a halt, he found himself in front of a pair of black shoes, which did not belong to any of his friends.

"Potter!" a very familiar voice shouted "What are you doing outside of your common room at this time?"

"Professor Snape!" Harry gasped and felt instantly relieved. He still was breathing heavily as he tried to stand up.

Professor Snape studied the boy critically. "What the hell happened?"

But Harry could not speak. Still trembling, he flung forward and held on to the man in front of him.

The professor froze on the spot.

_Since when__ did anyone take someone comfort in him?_

His first intention was to push the boy away, but then he noticed that Harry was shivering all over. Carefully he glanced up and down the corridor. When he was certain that nobody was watching, he rested one arm across Harry's back.

"Harry, what happened?" he asked again, now in a softer voice.

But Harry did not respond; he clung to the professor for dear life.

"Let's go to my office," Severus finally said. And suddenly realizing what he had just done, Harry released him, embarrassed for acting so childish.

"Sorry…" he mumbled sheepishily

Ooo

Professor Snape held the office door open for the boy, and as Harry entered, Severus noticed that Harry's cloak was torn.

He frowned as he surveyed the tear. "What happened to your cloak?"

"We didn't mean it, Sir, please believe me!" Harry suddenly pleaded.

Severus' frown deepened, "_Didn't mean what_?"

"We were on our way back to the common room, but the staircase changed directions. We didn't know where we were until the torches on the wall lit up."

"And _where_ exactly did you land?

"Erm…the forbidden corridor…" Harry whispered, scarcely audible as he dropped his head.

"And you didn't turn back, _why_?"

"Filch's cat! She came out of nowhere!"

"I see. You thought it was better to get torn to shreds than to get caught by the caretaker. I wonder, how did you get through the door at the end of the corridor?"

"Herm-" Harry stopped himself midsentence and blushed, he nearly revealed that Hermione was with him, then he stuttered "Erm... with…er…magic."

"And you went in, without knowing what you were getting into, even though the corridor was forbidden and Professor Dumbledore had warned you at the welcome feast not to enter that corridor if you didn't have a death wish?"

Harry shrank back a few inches. He knew it hadn't been the best decision.

"Apart from the fact that you put your life in great danger, you broke several school rules: Outside of your common room after curfew…trespassing in the forbidden corridor…performing magic outside the classroom and without supervision…" Snape glared and shook his head menacingly. "You understand that I'm not able to leave this unpunished?"

Harry gulped and then nodded.

"Very well, who was with you?"

The boy's eyes grew larger. He could not betray his friends.

Severus raised an eyebrow. "I know you were not the one who charmed the door open. And it is unfair to punish you for that."

Harry gulped again. "I… I can't say, Sir! I'm sorry."

Severus shook his head stunned. "Gryffindors…" he mumbled to himself. "Very well, Potter, as you wish. Detention tomorrow and the next two following days at seven o'clock in my classroom! You are dismissed."

But Harry did not leave. With a bowed head he sniffed. "I'm sorry, Professor…"

Severus signed. "Harry, what do you want me to say? You broke the rules, therefore you will receive detention! And as long as you refuse to tell me who was with you, you will have to sit in detention alone. "

Harry nodded miserably. "I swear, I'll never go in that corridor again!"

"You had better not, or so help me I will _not_ hesitate to spank you."

Flushing hotly, the boy looked up with scared eyes. Did Snape really mean that?

For a long moment they both just looked at each other, saying nothing. Finally Snape asked, "Did the dog tear your cloak?"

Harry nodded and shivered at the memory.

"Do you have any idea how close to death you were today?"

Dismal as ever, Harry nodded again.

"How did you get free?" Severus was curious.

"Erm… someone conjured up a pepper spell and the dog sneezed."

Severus shook his head in disbelieve. First years came up with the most absurd ideas.

"Very well, do you feel well enough to find your way back to your common room by yourself or do you need company?"

For a short moment Harry's eyes lit up, but then he flushed and looked down, feeling like a great, sodding baby. "I can do it myself…"

Severus nodded once. "Fine. Use the _lumos_ charm in the dark corridors." he advised the boy.

Harry nodded once more and gave his professor the smallest of smiles. "Thank you, sir."

"Thank me? What for?" Severus asked, bewildered.

"For being here at the right moment!"

"Right moment?" Severus echoed, "I daresay if the beast would have bitten your head off, than I would have been far too late!"

"But it didn't!"

"Good night, Harry…" Professor Snape remarked dryly, closing the topic as he headed to the door and held it open for the boy.

"Good night, Professor," Harry said and scurried through the open door.

"Wait!" Snape suddenly called out.

Curious, Harry turned around to see the professor pulling out his wand. Harry's eyes grew wide and he almost stepped back.

"Potter, don't look so scared. If I intended to harm you, I would have done that inside of my office, not outside where everybody could watch."

Harry relaxed a bit.

"_Reparo_!" Severus said, and Harry's cloak was good as new.

"Thanks!" Harry beamed.

"You are welcome. Now go. And keep your eyes open!"

Harry nodded and finally set off for the Gryffindor common room.

Severus watched the boy until he disappeared around the corner. He listened, smiling lightly as a soft "Lumos!" echoed from the far corridor, the light's reflection bouncing brightly off of the walls and the floor.

Severus sighed, pushed himself off the door frame and reentered his office. He was confused. He felt proud of Harry for conquering the lumos charm. But he was also scared. He was becoming too close with the boy. And though he was very different than his father, Harry was still the son of Severus' childhood archenemy.

Severus exhaled again. _Why has the boy begun to trust me so easily? I haven't done anything to earn that trust!_

The professor remembered Harrys words: "_Thank you for being here at the right moment…"_

In an odd way Severus knew exactly what the boy had meant by that. Harry was as white as a sheet and was trembling with fear when he had bumped into the professor. But the moment Harry had recognized Severus, relief had flashed across the boys face.

Severus shook his head. He could not deny that he was beginning to care for the boy. And the thought of where the boy had ended up today terrified him.

_What if Harry had died?_He rubbed a hand over his eyes in frustration. _And why the hell do I care?_ It had been a long time since Severus had really cared for someone. And he had never cared for the students that much, aside from his Slytherins. So why Harry?

But try as he might, Severus couldn't shake the vision of the boy's familiar green eyes—the eyes of someone he had once cared for. The only pair of eyes that, in turn, once glimmered with compassion for him.


	3. the secret of the cauldrons

I'm sorry for the long break, the translation took me some time and then I was on holiday too. But I hope you enjoy, the next chapter.

**The secret of the cauldrons**

"Harry, where are you going? Don't you want to come with us to the library?" asked Ron, puzzled as his friend headed another direction after dinner. "We still have to do research for our History essay!"

"I… erm… I have detention!" Harry stammered, embarrassed.

"Detention? With who? Why?" Ron's eyes grew large.

"Snape." Harry's answer was barely a whisper.

Ron was stunned. "Snape?" he repeated in disbelief. "But when did you get detention? We didn't even have Potions today."

"Yesterday…" Harry replied in a low voice, hoping his friend would quiet down a bit too. He didn't want the whole castle to know about his detention.

"Yesterday?" Ron echoed, but then it hit him, "Wait a minute… this didn't happen right after we looked for that bloody dog, did it?"

Harry nodded.

"But you said…you said you just went to the toilet. You didn't mention anything about detention!" Ron complained, casting his friend an uncomprehending look.

"It's okay… I mean, it's not that bad," Harry reassured him.

"Not that bad? Are you crazy? Why should you have to do detention alone? We were all there. Why didn't you tell him that we were with you?

"Because I don't betray my friends, okay?!" Harry shouted.

But Ron shook his head in disbelief.

"Look…" Harry started to explain, "There's no reason for you to get in trouble too. Snape didn't know you were with me, and that's good, isn't it?"

The redhead thought about that. Then he said, "I don't know. I just feel bad that you have detention and I don't."

"It's okay, really!" Harry said again. "If it makes you feel better, you can do the research for your essay and help me with mine after detention. Deal?"

"Are you sure?"

Harry nodded vigorously.

"Okay. Deal. But you really should have said something! I'm your friend!" Ron complained again.

Harry looked guilty and then hung his head. "I'm sorry," he said in a whisper "I've never had any friends before. I guess I'm just used to dealing with problems on my own."

Ron regretted his reproachful tone immediately. "No, mate, _I'm _sorry. I didn't mean to bark at you. I grew up with five brothers and a sister, so sometimes I'm kind of harsh without meaning to be..."

Harry smiled a bit.

"You're _really _sure I shouldn't come with you?" Ron asked once more.

"Yes, I'm sure. You just do the research, okay? Oh and… please don't tell Hermione and Neville. One of us stuck in detention is enough."

"Sure, Harry," Ron promised with a knowing nod.

"Thanks. You really are my best friend, you know…"

Ron's smile grew larger and Harry smiled back.

Ooo

"You're late, Potter," Professor Snape stated dryly as Harry finally showed up to detention.

Harry gulped. "I'm sorry, professor, I got held up!"

"Obviously. May I ask by whom?"

"Er…a friend," Harry said and could not hide the gleam in his eyes as he said the word 'friend'. It felt really good to be able to say that. To really have a friend. That was still a new experience for Harry.

Professor Snape frowned in irritation as he observed the jovial look in Harry's eyes.

_How ridiculous… __You would think that the boy-who-lived has never had any friends in his life._

"Don't let this happen again," Snape finally replied.

"Yes, Sir. I won't."

The professor nodded once and then pointed his finger at the small pile of cauldrons piled in the sink. The professor had no idea what the students did with them to make them so potion-encrusted and filthy, but it was ideal work for detention.

Harry didn't need any more instructions. He took the sponge and the soap, rolled up his sleeves and got to work.

Severus stared at him. The boy hadn't even made a face as he picked up the first cauldron. Harry proceeded very systematically. He filled one cauldron with water to soak, loosening the residue, while he scrubbed at another one.

_Only someone who __has done this many times would realize the importance of soaking cauldrons…_, Snape thought to himself. The fact that Harry worked well in small place surrounding the sink and had no need for any more tables as depositing stations made Snape's impression stronger.

_But how __is this possible? No eleven year old boy knows about scrubbing this precisely… How did this boy grow up? With no friends and professional knowledge about scrubbing?_ Snape knew Harry was raised by muggles, but surely, even the muggles spoiled the hero of the wizarding world, the conqueror of the Dark Lord.

_So what's this rubbish about?_

As Severus wasn't able to answer his own question, he got to work as well . There was still a huge pile of essays he had to correct. Every now and then, the professor thought he heard a whispering voice of the boy: "Go on. Go away!" But all was quiet in the classroom.

As the scrubbing and whispering stopped Severus looked up to see the boy reaching for the polishing rag.

"I think that's enough. You don't have to polish them, as they will only get dirty again," Severus heard himself say, wondering what possessed him to refuse such a thing.

Harry looked up at his professor. "Sir?"

"It's late. You may go back to your common room."

Now puzzled, Harry frowned. But receiving no response, he nodded and put the rag down. Severus stood up and walked over to the boy. "I shall see you tomorrow. I expect you to be on time."

"Yes, Sir," Harry promised, scrambling toward the door. "Have a nice night, professor!"

Now it was Severus's turn to look puzzled. There weren't many students that were friendly to him, least of all after detention.

As Harry left the classroom, Severus looked at the wall clock for the first time. Stunned he stared at the watch hands. It wasn't even an hour since Potter had entered the classroom. How was it possible that he had finished? He frowned, spun around and walked toward the cauldrons.

He scrutinized them with a critical eye. They were perfectly clean. In disbelief, Severus glanced from the clean pile of cauldrons, to the clock, and then back to the cauldron in his hand. _What is going on?_ It was impossible to scrub eighteen cauldrons that perfectly in less than an hour without the use of magic.

Ooo

"Hey, you're back! I thought you'd still be with the greasy bat of the Dungeons," Ron commented, astonished as Harry climbed through the portrait hole back into the common room.

"Yeah… I can't believe he actually let me go so early," Harry told his friend.

"What did you have to do?" Ron was curious.

"Scrub cauldrons."

"How many?" Ron asked, a skeptical look on his face. If Harry got back this early then there couldn't have been many.

"Erm… eighteen, I think."

Ron's jaw dropped. Then he closed it again and frowned. "You're joking, aren't you?"

But Harry shook his head, "No, why should I? There were eighteen and they were disgusting. But they weren't any worse than Aunt Petunia's pots when she burns dinner, I guess."

"You had to scrub cauldrons at home?" Ron asked shocked.

"Yeah." Harry laughed at Ron's look, "But we call them pots."

"You have to do kitchen work at home?"

"Yeah, of course. Don't you?"

"No. My mum waves her wand and then everything is clean again."

"Wow!" Harry said impressed "I wish I was raised by wizards too. Magic is brilliant!"

"If you want, I could ask my mum about the spell. Then you can use it at home!"

Harry burst out in laughter. "I'm not allowed to even _say_ the word _magic_. Imagine me standing in the kitchen, waving my wand… They would love that!"

"Your family's absolutely horrid!" Ron cried, appalled "You know that?"

Harry shrugged "There isn't much I can do, is there?"

"Go to Dumbledore and ask him if you can live with us. I could make some space for you in my room!"

Now Harry smiled sheepishly, "That sounds too good to be true."

"Why? There are already seven of us. One more won't be a problem. I'll ask my mum, okay?"

"Okay," Harry whispered hoarsely, his face burning as he realized that his throat was tightening and his eyes were filling with tears. He dropped his head so Ron wouldn't see. Until now, nobody had ever suggested such a thing to him. He knew that there was no way it would happen, but he was touched by the idea.

Ooooo

"Harry?" Ron asked, puzzled again as his friend headed to the dungeons again after dinner the next night.

"Detention," Harry replied.

"Again?"

"I've got it three nights in a row. Tomorrow's my last day for it…"

Ron stared at his friend. "Three detentions, and you didn't say a single word about it?"

Guiltily, Harry hung his head.

"Blimey, now I really feel awful…" Ron mumbled.

Harry didn't know what to say.

"Well, I'll pay you back. What about the herbology essay? I let you copy it, okay?" Ron finally said and gave Harry a pat on the shoulder.

"Thanks!" Harry replied and then sprinted of into the dungeon.

Ooo

As Harry entered the Potions classroom, Professor Snape was preoccupied with a letter he held in his hands. Without looking up, he waved Harry in.

Harry walked up to the desktop and waited as Snape held up one finger, implying that he didn't want to be interrupted. Uncertain, Harry shifted from one foot to the other. He didn't like the silence; he wished he knew already what his task was, because then he could get started and get out of here.

Finally Snape set the letter down in the drawer top of his desk. "I'm glad to see you on time today, Potter" he said, fixing the boy with a piercing glare.

Harry dropped his head, looking up through his fringe.

"There are some more cauldrons for you to clean," he said and pointed to the sink again.

Harry just nodded. Scrubbing cauldrons was not his favorite hobby, but since he had some experience with it, he didn't mind so much. At least Snape wouldn't shout at him to work faster or something like that.

As Harry glanced over at the cauldrons, he couldn't help but smile.

"Something amusing?" Severus asked, his voice dry yet curious. This time the professor had decided he would watch the boy more closely to discover the secret of the perfectly scrubbed cauldrons.

"No, Sir… it's just… I was just wondering what could've happened to the cauldrons to make them so filthy."

"I suppose that makes two of us," Severus replied, curling his lip in disgust toward the result of his students' labor.

Still smiling and scratching at an eyebrow, Harry nodded, took the sponge and silently began working. Professor Snape took the _Daily Prophet_ and held it up high enough to make it appear as if he were perusing the headlines. There was no need to let the boy know that he was watching.

At first, Severus noticed, Harry didn't use the protection gloves. It seemed that he didn't mind the hot water or the aggressive soap. Harry was very focused on his work. His movements appeared as confident as these of a housewife.

As the boy started to scrub a bit harder, he stuck his tongue to the corner of his mouth. And then he began whispering.

"Go on, go away!" the child repeated several times.

Severus shook his head in amusement, but suddenly his eyes caught sight of a warm glow from inside the cauldron. At first the professor wasn't sure if he really saw the cauldron glowing, but as the boy put it aside to pick up the next one, Severus paid further attention.

It happened again. First the whispering, then the glow, and then the cauldron was spotless

Snape stared at the boy in disbelieve. Wandless magic. That was very rare for a first year student to be able to master. It wasn't normal.

Severus watched Harry for a while, but it was the same with every other cauldron. And curiously, it seemed that the boy did not even notice what he was doing. Severus had never seen such a phenomenon in his whole teaching career. He didn't know what to do.

If the boy really didn't know about his use of magic, it would be unfair to accuse him of disobeying. But what if the boy knew and was just pretending to be oblivious?

Severus was so lost in his thoughts, that he barely noticed the boy had finished.

When Harry asked if he was dismissed, Severus nodded automatically.

Ooo

"Today you have just one more cauldron to clean," Severus informed Harry a day later. He pointed toward a huge copper cauldron. "You will need the protection gloves, as toxic substances were used to create that specific potion."

Harry frowned, skeptical. _Just one cauldron? What's the catch?_

Shrugging he pulled on the gloves.

"If it's toxic, won't it come through the gloves? They look so thin!" Harry asked wondering.

"No, those are dragon hide gloves. They are impermeable for any magic or magical substances; therefore, your skin will not get burned."

Harry nodded and took a closer look at the gloves. "Cool," He finally said.

Severus sat down behind his desk and watched Harry from behind his newspaper. The boy, once again, had clamped his tongue in the corner of his mouth and worked silently. As the whispering started, the professor lowered his newspaper and watched closely.

Now the boy scrubbed a bit harder, breaking out in a sweat, but he didn't give up.

Severus stood up and moved closer.

As Harry continued to scrub vigorously, he did not notice his approaching teacher. "Go away. Go on, go away!" he whispered again and again almost inaudibly.

Suddenly Harry dropped the sponge and stared at his hands.

"Professor!" he cried in a troubled voice and then nearly jumped out of his skin as he realized that said professor stood right behind him.

"Yes?" Severus asked.

"My hands! They're on fire. I think I broke the gloves and now the poison is on my hands!" Harry called in panic.

"Calm down, Harry," Severus said and reached for Harry's hands to remove the gloves, but the boy pulled his hands back.

"Don't! They're toxic!" Harry shrieked.

"No, they are not," the professor said calmly.

Harry looked puzzled. "But… I don't understand… the burning!"

"Pull off the gloves, Harry."

Harry did as he was told. His hands were a brilliant shade of red. But the burning sensation stopped immediately. As the cold air cooled his skin, Harry squinted uncertainly at his hands.

"The burning's stopped. But they're still really hot…" he said.

"It wasn't because of any toxin, but of a heat accumulation," Severus told him.

"Heat accumulation? But normally I don't sweat that easily," Harry replied, still disturbed.

"The burning was not caused by perspiration, Potter. It was caused by magic."

"What?" Harry asked. He stared at the professor, flabbergasted.

"Take the sponge, finish your work and then we will talk."

"But I don't understand. Isn't the stuff toxic anymore?"

"It was never toxic. I was just a test. Now, finish up, and we shall talk," Snape ordered as he walked back to his desk.

Still confused, Harry looked back and forth between the professor and the cauldron. _Just a test? What test?_

"Potter. Do as I say," Snape instructed without looking up.

Finally Harry picked up the sponge again and continued scrubbing the cauldron, this time without the protection gloves. Suddenly he felt the heat building up in his hands again and then the heat spilled out of his fingertips in a quick, bright glow. After that, the cauldron was as good as new.

Harry stared. He'd never noticed that before.

Was that the reason why uncle Vernon lost it and went berserk that one time while Harry was washing the dishes?

It had been several years since that night, and all Harry could remember was his uncle storming into the kitchen in a boiling rage, pulling him to the cupboard under the stairs by his hair. He locked Harry up for three days without any food. And since then Harry always made to do the washing before the sun came up.

"Sir?" Harry asked puzzled.

"Are you finished?" the professor countered.

"Yes, Sir. But I don't understand…"

"Sit!"

Harry released the sponge, which he was unconsciously squeezing between his fingers, and took the seat Snape was pointing towards. Nervously he rubbed his hands together. They felt as normal as ever, but Harry was still confused.

"I'm curious, Harry… How is it that a boy like you knows so much about scrubbing cauldrons?"

"I don't know, Sir. I always did the washing up at the Dursleys."

As Harry said that an indefinable look crossed his professor's face.

"Voluntarily?" Snape asked doubtfully.

Harry failed in suppressing a short laugh. "No. It was one of my chores!"

"You mentioned that your aunt does not like finger prints. Is there something else you haven't told me?"

Harry frowned. This question was odd, and he did not know what to say. But the professor simply looked at him and waited.

"Well… erm." Harry cleared his throat "There _are_ some rules I had to follow. The water had to be scalding because of the bacteria. At first I had trouble with the heat, but after a while I got used to it. And I had to dry the dishes immediately, because otherwise they would get blotches from the water. Then I had to polish it, so it looked as good as new, because uncle Vernon sometimes has business dinners at home, and it wouldn't make a good impression if the dishes weren't shiny."

"How often did you have to do the dishes?"

"Before Hogwarts? Every day."

"How long did it take?"

"I'm not allowed to spend more than fifteen minutes doing it."

"Did you sometimes struggle with this limited time?"

"Erm… I think I used to sometimes, but I learned to deal with the time limit."

Snape nodded to himself. He was sure Harry had developed the use of wandless magic to keep himself within that limit. But there was still the burning question: How did this happen? The only thing that would make it possible for a young boy to be able to learn such advanced magic was through fear. Most likely, fear of punishment. But what kind of punishment would cause such a great amount of fear?

Snape knew he had to be careful with this subject. He knew he could not ask the boy outright. So he began with small talk to try and get a better picture of what exactly he and Harry were discussing.

"What did your aunt do while you did the washing-up?"

"Erm… she mostly watched the telly with Dudley."

Snape frowned. He was irritated at Harry's casual tone. While he tried to decide what else he could ask, he remembered something Harry had said earlier:

"You said doing the dishes was just one of you chores… What else do you have to do?" Snape asked finally.

"Erm… a lot of different stuff: the laundry, the ironing, gardening, clean the windows..."

The professor stared at the boy in disbelief. Who allowed an eleven year old boy to clean the windows or prune the garden? Rage began to rise up in Snape as he listened to the boy's words.

Harry was raised as a house elf. The boy had to do things nobody his age had to do.

Snape tried to suppress his anger and asked, "And what do your aunt and uncle do?"

"Uncle Vernon works and Aunt Petunia goes shopping talks on the phone, or she sits with Dudley and watches television. Usually she does the cooking. But if I have nothing else to do I have to help her peel the potatoes or cut the onions…things like that."

"And this Dudley. He is your cousin?"

Harry nodded.

"What are his chores?" Snape was curious.

Harry shook his head, "Nothing, Sir. He just watches the telly or runs around with his friends, beating up little kids and stuff."

"And you think this is _normal_?" The professor couldn't hide his rage any longer.

The boy just shrugged. But his eyes betrayed him. He looked sad. "There's nothing I can do, is there? Uncle Vernon always says I should show more gratitude, since they were so generous to raise me."

Snape growled and banged his hand angrily on the desktop.

Harry winced and gulped. _Did I say something wrong?_ He wondered.

Before he could stop himself, Professor Snape asked the burning question, against his better judgment.

"And what does your uncle do if you don't finish your chores?"

Harry's eyes grew larger. Now he _knew_ he'd said something wrong. He wasn't allowed to tell anyone about how he was treated at home. If uncle Vernon found out he'd be in serious trouble. Harry gulped again. Nervously he rocked back and forth on his chair and then glanced at the door.

Snape noticed the change in Harry's attitude, so he said "What are you afraid of?"

"Please, Sir" Harry suddenly pleaded, shaking his head frantically. "I'm sorry. I don't know why I said anything. I know I shouldn't lie. I'm sorry. It won't happen again. I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

Snape couldn't believe his ears.

_Like a house elf._ He thought again.

But none of this made sense. One look at the boy and it was clear that what he'd said was true. The professor had no idea how to proceed. Appalled at Harry's cowed state, he could not take his eyes from the boy.

"Harry, please look at me," he said with the friendliest voice he could muster.

Two horrified, large green eyes looked up at him.

"I promise you. I won't say a word to anyone without your permission," the professor said. But at the same time he knew he could not keep his word, as he had to inform the headmaster. However, his top priority at the moment was to gain the boy's trust.

"I'm sorry, Sir…" Harry whispered again.

"No, you don't have to be. You did nothing wrong," Snape assured him.

Doubtfully, Harry looked at Snape, "I used magic for the cauldrons! I didn't know I was doing it, but I did it. Please don't punish me!"

Snape sighed, frowning. _That_ was the least of his worries.

But this little exchange made it clear that Harry was indeed afraid of punishment. Punishment of what sort?

"Harry," the professor said, looking the boy straight in the eyes. It hurt him to see this eyes full of suffering. Lily never had to suffer. She was full of life and energy.

Harry had a hard time maintaining eye contact because he knew he would have to lie if Snape didn't drop the topic.

"Did your uncle beat you?" There was the question.

Harry didn't want to lie to the professor. Snape was strict but in an odd way he seemed to understand Harry better than anyone else. But Harry couldn't say anything; he wasn't allowed to. Harry was torn between the desire to tell the truth and the need to lie.

"Harry, I can help you. I will find a way, but I need to know for certain," Snape tried to convince the boy.

But Harry only shook his head, sadly. "No," he whispered. "He never beat me…"

"This is a lie. I know it Harry," Snape said in a soft voice.

"No," Harry whispered again. And then he jumped up so suddenly that Snape jerked. Merlin only knew where the boy got his courage, but Harry screamed with all his might, "No, you don't know! You don't know anything!" And with these words, he fled from the room.

"Damn!" Snape grumbled to himself. He wasn't angry at the boy but rather, he was shocked.

It was obvious. And Snape _knew _it. Harry Potter had been mistreated by his relatives.


	4. Apology

Apology

"Severus, my boy, to what do I owe the honor of your visit at this late hour?"

"Albus, I need to speak with you."

"I assumed that much, as you are not a man who would come by just to drink a cup of tea. So, what is this about? Please have a seat," Dumbledore invited.

Professor Snape seated himself in the chair opposite of Dumbledore and looked the older man right in the eyes. "It's about Harry."

"Oh yes, our young Mr. Potter. It seems he is a very bright and curious little boy. He overcame his difficulties at the beginning of the school year very quickly. Many of the staff are delighted with his progress and polite behavior," Albus proudly told the potions master.

"Yes, that may be, but he carries a dark secret behind his innocent appearance," Severus grumbled. He could barely stand the joyful mood of the headmaster, who happily sucked on a sherbet lemon.

At Severus' words the headmaster peered over the rims of his half moon spectacles, "What do you mean?"

"I mean that Harry has most likely been mistreated by his relatives!" Severus exclaimed, laying facts outright on the table.

"Mistreated? That is a very heavy assumption, Severus…"

"I'm aware of that, Albus, but I'm certain that I am right," Severus snapped.

Finally the headmaster became serious. He lowered the bowl filled with the lemon drops, which he was about to offer to Severus and gazed at him instead. Severus appeared very furious and Albus knew from experience that his young colleague was usually correct about his suspicions.

"Do you have any evidence at hand?"

Severus sighed. "I promised the boy that I wouldn't speak of what he said. But I knew I had to inform you. What do you know about these muggle relatives of Harry's?"

"Not a great deal, except that the safety of Lily's blood wards continued through Petunia Dursley. However, it never crossed my mind, that a mother would mistreat another baby. But if you are right, Severus, we will be facing a true dilemma, because Harry will lose that protection as soon as we take him away. Therefore, we must be certain."

Severus looked a bit afflicted. "He is afraid to speak of something. You should have seen him when I asked him if his relatives beat him; he cringed as far away as possible and apologized like a house elf who had spoken ill of his master."

Dumbledore looked pensively at Severus. "Unfortunately, without proof there is not much I can do."

"I know," Severus nearly snapped, bristling with anger and exasperation.

"Even with proof it won't be easy. With the protection gone, everyone who takes the boy in puts himself in danger, too."

"But if he really was beaten by his relatives, then I think it's worth the risk! What's the use of protection from the outside, when the danger is on the inside?"

"You are definitely right, Severus. But I need proof."

"And you will get it. There is no way I will let the boy return to those muggles," Severus said, determined.

Astonished, Albus raised an eyebrow. He never thought the day would come when Severus Snape would spend a moment worrying about Harry Potter.

Ooo

"Troll, troll! In the dungeon! I thought you should know!"

With these words, Professor Quirrell collapsed in the Great Hall during Halloween dinner.

Screaming students shot up from their places and ran in all directions, trying to escape from the Hall. Harry had no idea what was going on.

"What's a troll?" he asked Ron.

"Believe me, you don't want to know!" Ron answered, already pale in the face.

After Dumbledore instructed everyone to return to the dormitories by the lead of House prefects, Harry suddenly stopped on his way to the common room. He plucked Ron's sleeve.

"Hermione!" he whispered emphatically.

"What about her?" Ron snapped. He and the girl had a dispute, and Ron was still angry at her.

"She doesn't know about the troll! And she's alone!" Harry said, worried.

"You don't want to go back, do you?" Ron asked, his face drawn in shock.

But Harry didn't answer. Instead, he sprinted off in the direction of the girls' toilets. He'd overheard Pavarti Patil say that Hermione had been crying in a stall all afternoon.

Ooo

"Is it…dead?" Hermione asked in a shaky voice.

"No, he's just… kind of… knocked out, I think…" Harry said.

"Urgh… troll bogies!" Ron stated in disgust as Harry pulled his wand out of the troll's nose.

Harry looked as nauseated as Ron did and tried to get rid of it by wiping his wand on the troll's trousers. As he pocketed his wand, he heard hurried footsteps coming nearer. He looked at his friends. They both appeared to be as uncertain and nervous as Harry felt.

McGonagall burst into the girls' room with a bang, followed closely by Snape and Quirrell. While Quirrell took a seat on one of the toilets, hand over his heart and looking very much as if he were going to faint again, Snape looked the troll over before nodding toward McGonagall.

"Unconscious," he said.

McGonagall glared angrily at her students, demanding an explanation. Harry and Ron didn't know what to say, but suddenly Hermione started to talk. The boys exchanged surprised looks as they realized Hermione was lying to her teacher.

Then Harry's gaze fell on Snape's bloody leg. Appalled he glanced up into his professor's eyes. But Snape frowned angrily at the boy and hid his leg under the cloak. Harry wanted to know what happed, but before he got the chance to ask, McGonagall was suddenly giving Harry and Ron points for sheer luck.

Harry hadn't expected that. Nor did Ron or Snape.

Finally Professor McGonagall shooed the children out of the toilet to their dormitory. But Professor Snape placed a hand at Harry's shoulder and said, "A word, please, Mr. Potter."

"Severus, these children belong in their beds!"

"I'm aware of this. And I will make sure Potter arrives to his dormitory in one piece."

Harry shook his shoulder in an attempt to free himself, but his professor only grabbed his arm and pulled him along.

Ooo

"Sit!" Snape ordered as soon as he and Harry reached his office. Harry did as he was told and watched as Snape hobbled around his desk.

"What happed to your leg?" Harry asked, curious.

"That's none of your business!" Snape snapped.

Harry looked hurt but after a short moment asked, "Why am I here?"

"Because I want to know the whole story. Not the heroic—or shall I say _ridiculous—_version!"

"But it's true! We came to help Hermione. She wasn't at the dinner, and she didn't know about the troll!"

"Fine. But how did you know where Miss Granger was?"

"We overheard some girls at the dinner talking about Hermione hiding in the girls' toilet."

"Are you to tell me that Miss Granger actually missed dinner while hiding in the toilet?"

"Well… yeah," Harry began with a shrug. "She was sad…"

"Sad? Why?"

"Erm, Ron was angry at her and said something rude. Then she just disappeared for the rest of the day."

"And then you thought you could make up for this quarrel by informing her about the troll?"

"We couldn't leave her behind!"

"Why didn't you inform a prefect or a teacher?"

"We thought the troll was in the dungeon…like Professor Quirrell said, and we just wanted to get Hermione! But when we got there, we noticed that the troll was heading to toilet where she was hiding…"

"And why, pray tell, didn't you inform a teacher when you saw that the troll had left the dungeons?"

"Because Hermione was screaming!" Harry exclaimed, as if that explained it all. "We didn't have time to grab a teacher!" He was getting hot and frustrated.

"Oh, of course. I understand…" Snape commented dryly. "You thought it better if you risked your _own_ neck in the process!"

Harry opened his mouth to protest but Snape cut him off before he could speak, "You have no idea what could have happened to you and your friends! Your stunt was careless, and it could have been the end of the road for all of you!"

Harry hung his head. The proud happiness he felt about his victory over the troll—and his earned points—vanished like smoke.

"Look at me!" Snape hissed.

Harry glanced up, a small spark of insurgence and defiance gleaming in his green eyes. "I'm sorry, Sir. But I don't let my friends down."

"No? But you let them cry in the toilet while you are eating dinner?"

Harry gulped, though part of him still didn't blame himself. He had only just heard about Hermione at dinner. But before he could reply, Snape went on.

"And you seem to have no reservations about causing your _friend_ tears…"

Harry dropped his head again. It was so unfair that Snape was blaming him for making Hermione cry when it was all Ron's fault. But he knew it would be useless to point that out, as his professor seemed happy to be able to blame Harry for everything.

So he asked in a low voice, "What… what are you going to do?"

A little surprised about this question and Harry's odd tone of voice Snape rose an eyebrow. "What do you think I plan to do? I'm lecturing you, am I not?"

Uncertain of Snape's intention, Harry glanced up again. "Not me! What are you gonna do about Hermione's lie?"

"Miss Granger is not my problem. And the fact that Professor McGonagall thought it a good idea to take points from her and give you some in return, as absurd as that was, is also not my problem. But _you_, young man, _you _are my problem!"

"Why?" Harry asked anxiously. "I'm a Gryffindor too…"

"Yes, I know! But I knew your mother…"

"Really?" Harry's eyes grew larger. "But what does that—"

"Yes, really," Snape interrupted firmly, "And I'm quite certain she would be excessively disappointed to know how carelessly you risk the life she saved!"

Harry starred at Snape in disbelief, the stinging words slowly carving into his heart. Nobody, not even the Dursleys ever said something that hurt that much. Tears welled up in Harry's eyes, and he closed them in pain and shame.

But there was another small voice that was telling him that this accusation was unfair. He just saved Hermione's life. What on earth was wrong with that? If it wasn't for Ron and him, Hermione could be dead.

Stoically he scraped up his pride and bravery and glared into Snape's eyes.

"You don't know anything," he whispered as he stood up.

Professor Snape grabbed for his shoulder, but Harry dodged him and shook his hand off.

"What don't I know?" Snape asked, grimly.

Harry only cast him a hurt, impatient look. "Can I leave?"

As Severus turned from the boy, he slowly became aware of his mistake. He should not have said that about Lily. Merlin, he had absolutely no right to speak of Lily in such a way. He could have slapped himself for his own stupidity. What had he wanted to prove? Had he meant to impress the boy with his statement?

As the man focused back to reality, he intended to apologize to the boy. But before he could even attempt it, Severus realized that Harry already left.

"Damn!" he swore, plopping down on the chair Harry had just vacated.

Ooo

Harry took Snape's long silence as an affirmative to flee from the room. He ran up the stairs for two more floors before he slowed, the impact of Snape's words hitting him again with blunt, stinging force.

He choked on a sob. The last thing Harry wanted was to disappoint his mother or father.

As he reached his common room, Ron and Hermione waited anxiously for him.

"Harry!" the girl exclaimed when she noticed the traces of tears on his cheeks.

"What did that bastard do to you?" Ron growled furiously, laying a protective arm across Harry's shoulders.

But Harry wasn't up to saying _anything_. He headed for the sofa next to the fireplace and dropped his seat down onto the cushion. Pulling up his knees, he hugged them tightly.

"Harry?" Hermione asked again. This time in a much lower voice. The girl crouched down in front of him.

As Harry looked into Hermione's hazel eyes, he realized that no matter what Snape believed his mother would think about him, he had done the right thing. These were his friends. His first friends ever. What could be more important than protecting them?

"Snape really _is_ a bastard!" Harry finally confessed.

"I've only been telling you this since we had our first lesson with him…" Ron confirmed.

"Yeah, I know, but I just thought… never mind." Harry didn't want to think about that now.

He'd really thought that Snape was going to be different than the other adults in his life. But now he wasn't sure anymore. In hindsight, he was glad that he hadn't told Snape about the Dursleys, because if Snape was like the others, than he wouldn't believe him. He wouldn't help Harry. Telling his professor would only make things worse.

Ooo

That night Harry slept fitfully. He muttered in his sleep, waking Ron up in the process.

"Professor Snape – Sir, please – no, please don't – it wasn't me – mum – I'm sorry – No, don't – please don't go – I'm sorry!"

Ron jumped out of his bed and shook his friend's shoulder until Harry was finally startled out of his dream.

"Hush, Harry," Ron whispered. "It's only me!"

Relieved, Harry took a deep breath. "I'm sorry I woke you up," he apologized.

"It's okay" Ron assured Harry, "Do you want to talk about it?"

Harry shook his head. "No."

Ron looked at his friend anxiously. "You were talking in your sleep. You said Snape's name. What did he do to you?"

Exhausted, Harry shook his head again, "Nothing, he just scolded me and told me how stupid it was to hunt down the troll on our own, without telling a teacher."

"But you were crying!" Ron pointed out.

Harry's face burned, and he felt sweaty underneath his pajamas. "I know…"

"He didn't thrash you, did he?"

Casting his friend a shy but amused smile, Harry shook his head, "No…he didn't thrash me. He just said some really rotten things to me."

"Will you tell me what he said?" Ron asked, staring Harry right in the eye.

Harry sighed and straightened up in his bed. "He told me that he knew my mum, and that she would be disappointed in me because I'm so careless with my life."

As Harry recited Snape's words, they still hurt a bit.

Ron frowned deeply. "What can that git know about your mum? I think she'd be proud that you knocked out a full grown mountain troll in your first year!"

"But now that I think about it, it _was_ kind of stupid, I guess. We could have _died_…" Harry agreed.

"But what about 'Mione? She wouldn't have had a chance if she would've gone against that troll by herself. If it wasn't for us, who knows what would've happened to her. We did it together. Even McGonagall gave us points for it! So, if you ask me, the dungeon bat can say whatever he wants. He doesn't know anything about bravery or pride…or honor. He's just a slimy Slytherin."

Harry smiled again at his friend. Ron's energy was somehow contagious.

"Thanks," he whispered.

"Hey, it's nearly seven. Why don't we get up and go down for breakfast?"

"Okay!" Harry agreed, suddenly starving.

Ooo

"Mr. Potter!" a voice echoed through the corridor after breakfast

Harry and Ron were about to leave the Great Hall, but hearing Snape's voice, Harry froze. Slowly he turned around to face his professor. The neutral mask Snape always wore revealed nothing of his current mood.

"Sir?" Harry asked nervously.

"We have to talk. In my office…"

Ron who stood next to Harry took a step forward, shoving himself in front of his friend. "What about?" he asked and crossed his arms.

Snape raised an eyebrow. Under any other circumstances he would have replied, that it was none of the redheaded brat's business. But judging by the boy's protective body language, it was obvious: Mr. Weasley was concerned about Harry. Certainly this was the _special_ friend of Harry's.

"Very well. Mr. Weasley, you may come along with Mr. Potter if you wish."

Ron nodded triumphantly, but Harry just shrugged.

Ooo

After they all took a seat, Snape glanced back and forth between the two boys, but finally his eyes rested on Harry, and he drew in a silent breath to prepare himself.

"Harry, I'm sorry if I hurt you yesterday. I am not entitled to say what your mother would or would not think of you. I suppose I was a bit… shocked over the troll incident. Merlin only knows how you three survived!"

Harry began to smile. But Ron couldn't believe his ears. He gawked at Snape as if he'd suddenly grown a second nose in his face. The way Snape talked to Harry was so different than the snapping and growling that normally flew out of the man's mouth.

"However," Snape went on, "I expect you both to go directly to a prefect or a teacher before you _ever _rush headlong into a situation like that _ever _again. Even with Miss Granger in peril, you have no business risking your own necks. We have rules for a reason. I know I'm not your head of house, and this time I let you off with a warning. But should I catch you foolishly risking your lives again, I will make sure there will be punishment! And I won't accept an excuse involving the shifting staircases. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, Sir," Harry and Ron answered in chorus.

"You are dismissed," Snape said, proud of himself for managing to add a stern warning to his embarrassing apology.

Perhaps his reputation wasn't completely ruined after all...

Ooo

After Harry and Ron left Snape's office, the redhead continued to gawk.

"Are you sure that was Snape?" he asked in disbelief.

"Yep."

"The real Snape?"

"Uh huh."

"I don't get it. Did you hear what he said? He apologized!"

"Yeah, I heard it. I was in the same room with you!" Harry reminded Ron.

"Right… But—wow! Nobody'll believe that! You're sure it was the _real_ Snape? I mean you should know. You spend more time with him than I do."

Harry rolled his eyes, "Yes, Ron. This. Was. Snape! The real, one and only Snape!"

"But-" Ron began and then stopped again, unable to find the right words.

Harry jabbed Ron with his elbow and smiled. "Come on. Let's grab our books."

"Hey!" Ron protested and gave Harry a nudge in the ribs in return.

Laughing they headed back to their dormitory.


	5. Quidditch

**Quidditch**

Harry sat nervously at the breakfast table and tried to eat something. But he didn't have much of an appetite.

"Come on, Harry. You have to eat something. Tomorrow's your first Quidditch game, and it's against Slytherin! You've _got_ to be well. You can't afford to fall off your broom, because you didn't eat enough," Ron declared with worry.

"Oh, thanks, now I'm relieved…" Harry answered in a petulant voice.

"Hey, what are you afraid of? You have the best broom _ever_. You'll make it all right! Your dad was a brilliant Seeker. And I'm sure you'll be as great as he was if not _greater_."

"That's exactly the problem." Harry hung his head. "Everyone expects me to be great. But how can I match up with my dad? I've only been a wizard for a few months now. How can I be as great as he was?"

"Harry, you've been a wizard your whole life…" Ron objected.

"Yes, but-"

"No buts. Listen! You mounted a broom in our first flying lesson and you flew it like nobody else could. And you were only flying an old school broom at the time... But _now_, you have a new Nimbus 2000. Why do you think you'll mess up?"

Harry cast a small smile at his friend, "I guess you're right."

"Hey, Harry, look what I found!" Hermione appeared in the Great Hall with a book in her hands. She was a bit late for breakfast, but there was still enough food for her to eat.

"What is it?" Harry asked curiously as he took the book she was holding out for him.

Stamped on the cover in red letters was the title, _Quidditch through the Ages_. With interest, Harry opened the book and saw small pictures that showed different flying tricks of great Quidditch players. He stared at the pictures in fascination. "Wow. Thanks a lot, Hermione!"

Ron look over Harry's shoulder. Both of them were lost in the book, while Hermione finished her breakfast.

Ooo

"What do you want to do now? We definitely need some fresh air after this week…" Ron suggested.

Harry and Hermione agreed. Harry was still holding onto his Quidditch book tight as they stepped out of the Entrance Hall; he didn't want to put down the book ever again.

Outside on the steps they met Professor Snape. He looked very grumpy. His bad mood had deepened with every day the Quidditch match _'Slytherin against Gryffindor'_ approached.

Professor McGonagall always grinned knowingly at him whenever they met in the corridors. She acted as though she had a secret weapon against Slytherin. The way the Potter boy had cheated his way onto the Gryffindor team displeased Professor Snape to no end. Any other student would have been expelled for such a stunt! Draco had certainly received _his_ just rewards.

As Snape looked at the small group, he noticed the book in Potters hands and found it a perfect scapegoat for his foul mood.

"Potter! What _is_ that?" he asked, startling the boy.

"Just a book, sir…" Harry replied.

"But it is a book from the library, is it not?"

Harry look down at the book. "Erm…yeah."

"You are not allowed to take books from the library out of the school. You should know that. Give it to me!" Snape hissed.

Harry gulped. "But… I want to read it. I'm not finished yet." Unconsciously he tightened his hold on the book.

He jerked back when Snape snapped, "Do _not _talk back to me, unless you wish to find yourself in detention tomorrow. Wouldn't it be a pity if the great Gryffindor hero missed his first match?"

Shocked and irritated, Harry loosened his grip on the book and slowly handed it over to the professor. Snape grabbed the book, stepped around the students and entered the school.

"He's in an awful mood!" Hermione complained.

"That's because he knows Slytherin will lose this time," Ron said and grinned.

"He's still limping. Maybe he's in pain…" Harry supposed, biting his lip to try and hide his hurt feelings.

"Limping?" asked Ron and Hermione together, bewildered as they looked back toward the entrance where Snape disappeared.

"Yes," Harry replied. "The three-headed dog must have bitten him. His leg was all bloody the day we knocked out the troll. Don't you remember?"

"No, I wasn't even looking at his legs…" Ron said pensively. Suddenly he glanced over at his friend, "But, Harry, why was he near the dog? All the teachers were ordered to the dungeon. Wait…what if _he_ was the one who let in the troll! As a distraction… to try and steal the…_thing_! Maybe he didn't get it and now he's grumpy…"

Hermione frowned, "Why would Snape want to steal the _thing_?"

"I don't know. But someone _did_ let in the troll," Ron insisted.

"I don't think it was Snape," Harry said.

"Then who was it? Maybe P-P-P-Professor Quirrell?" Ron laughed about his own joke, but nobody laughed with him. Ron cleared his throat and said, "Well…even _you_ have to admit…no other professor in this school is as weird as Snape. And absolutely none of the other teachers would've taken away your book just because you took a few steps out of the school. He's mean and unfair, 'specially to you, Harry!"

Harry shrugged, "I'm sure he'll give it back to me if I ask him for it and promise not to leave the school with it again."

Ron frowned, skeptical.

Ooo

After lunch Harry sought out Professor Snape to get the book back. He was eager to look at the tiny Quidditch pictures again and start practicing some of the moves. He knocked on Snape's office door, but there was no response.

Harry frowned. He was ready to leave when he heard a noise from inside the office. He knocked again and waited. But still there was no response.

_Maybe he didn't hear me?_ Harry thought and carefully opened the door a bit to get a look inside. But the sight before him took his breath away. Professor Snape had just plopped down on his chair and heaved his foot up onto the desktop. Between his teeth he had a cloth and on the table stood some several jars. Probably for his injured leg.

As the professor pulled up his trouser leg and exposed his wound Harry couldn't stop himself from gasping.

A furious Snape looked up and glared at the unwanted intruder.

"Haven't you ever learned to knock?!" he shouted, enraged.

"I… I did knock… twice, Sir!" Harry stuttered.

"And? Did I say you could come in?" Snape spat.

"N… No… but I thought heard something."

Snape hissed in disbelief. Then he glared at the boy again and said "Then hear _this, _boy: OUT!"

Harry winced. He could not understand what had gotten into his professor.

"I… I just wanted… to ask…" the boy started but fell silent immediately as Professor Snape stood up with a livid glare. He relied on the desktop table to keep balance himself. "I said OUT! NOW!" he bellowed.

Harry paled. He didn't know why his professor was so angry at him. Snape knew that _Harry_ knew about his leg. But Harry didn't give the matter another thought; he stepped back and closed the door with shaking hands.

_Maybe it's because of the pain_, Harry tried to convince himself, gritting his teeth against the lump that instantly clogged his throat. Snape's sudden change in attitude towards him cut deep. In private the man had been mostly nice to him. What happened?

Sad and confused, Harry went back to Gryffindor common room, wiping angrily at the tears that wouldn't stop leaking out of his eyes and trickling down his cheeks.

Ooo

As soon as Harry left, Severus knew it had been a mistake to throw the boy out like that. Perhaps he should have sealed the office door. But how did the boy have the nerve to burst into any room he wished without invitation? Didn't Potter know anything about privacy?

After dinner Snape ordered the boy to his office.

Nervously Harry shifted his weight from one foot to the other as he stood before his professor who was pacing in front of his desk.

"I hope you don't expect an apology because you won't get one," Professor Snape finally said and stopped pacing. "You cannot burst into any room you wish. That is a bad habit you will get rid of as soon as possible. You understand the concept privacy, do you not?"

Harry nodded, still embarrassed. "I'm sorry, Sir. But I didn't know if you heard me knocking. At first I thought you weren't here, but then I heard some rumbling and I tried again. But you didn't say anything, so I thought I would see—"

"You thought would simply barge in and see what was happening?" Snape ended the sentence for the boy.

"Erm… yes. Kind of…" Harry mumbled, and his face grew hot in shame.

"If you want to survive your first school year, then do not repeat such a thing. Doors which are closed are closed for a reason! No matter if they are locked or not, you cannot just enter as you wish like the King of England."

Red and hot in the face Harry hung his head and said, "I know."

"Really?" Snape asked, seemingly disbelieving as he fixed the boy with a stern glare. "You don't give that impression."

Harry hung his head lower but the professor commanded, "Harry, look at me!"

He waited until the boy gathered his courage and looked up. The green eyes were full of remorse.

"Harry, I expect you not to blindly stumble into rooms. You cannot know what will await you. And if you want to see someone, you have to knock and wait for an invitation. Without an invitation you have no right to enter, regardless of what you believe to have heard."

Harry nodded again and whispered, "Yes, Sir…"

"Very well," Snape said and walked around his desk to sit. "As for your earlier request, the answer is 'no'. I will not give the book back to you."

Astonished and disappointed Harry opened his mouth, but Snape did not let him speak.

"You will only drive yourself mad studying such ridiculous pictures. All you are expected to do is to keep yourself upright on your broom and catch the Snitch if you are lucky. You don't have to learn maneuvers."

Harry did not agree. He would also have to dodge the Bludgers or dive steeply to keep up with the Snitch. But Harry remained silent about that, as he was still smarting from the harsh outburst in the morning and earlier reprimand.

"Yes, Sir," he said capitulating. He knew there was nothing he could do to get the book back.

Ooo

The next day at breakfast Harry was even more nervous than the day before. He could not get down one single bite.

"I can't do it," Harry said, miserable.

"Of course you can!" reassured Ron. "You'll see. As soon as you're up in the air, everything that's bothering you will vanish!"

"I hope so…" Harry said uncertainly.

"Good luck, Potter," Snape's voice suddenly appeared as he passed the kids on his way out of the Great Hall.

Ron watched him leave with a suspicious look on his face. "He's still limping… The dog must've been very angry at him."

But Harry didn't let the dog business distract from him from his current misery. He was sure as soon as he mounted his broom he was going to disappoint everyone.

Ooo

Ron was right after all. As Harry pushed himself off and up into the air, he left his doubts at the ground. It felt so great to fly. The game went well and Harry had no problem dodging the Bludgers. But he also noticed that the Slytherins had no problems being unfair. They fouled a lot.

Suddenly Harry's broom jerked and twitched as if it were trying to throw him off. Taken aback Harry lost his balance. At the last minute he got a grip with one hand on the broom's handle to prevent himself from falling. His feet dangled in the air. But the broom didn't stop. Harry didn't understand what was going on. He hadn't done anything wrong. But there wasn't much time to think about that. He concentrated on gripping the broom with all his might. If he let go, he would smash to bits when he hit the ground, he was so high.

But as suddenly as it had happened, the broom stopped jerking. Harry was relieved. He was now able to climb on his broom again. When he did, he saw something twinkling near the ground. He barely gave it a second's thought as he dove for it, speeding toward the ground.

The viewers screamed again in panic. But Harry didn't care; the chase for the Snitch was on, and he had a Slytherin Seeker at his flank to boot.

After a second dive Harry flew just a few feet above the ground; the Snitch hovered right in front of him. Without thinking, he slowly stood on his broomstick, inching his feet forward. He reached out for the golden-winged ball. But before his fingertips touched the Snitch, Harry gasped and flipped over.

The broom had crashed to the ground from the sudden weight and took Harry with him.

Slowly Harry came around. His mouth was so dry, he was sure he swallowed a handful of sand. Coughing and nearly regurgitating his pumpkin juice, he stood up and spit out the chunk in his mouth. But it wasn't a hunk of sand that landed in his hand; it was the Snitch.

He stared at the tiny golden ball in disbelief while it flapped its wings tiredly.

"Gryffindor wins!" the voice rang through the megaphone, and Harry suddenly realized what he had done. He had caught it.

He hadn't disappointed anyone. He _caught_ the Snitch! His heart swelled in overwhelming delight. Closing his hand over the tiny ball, he held it high up to the air. People were cheering—cheering for _him._

Ooooo

"It was Snape!" Ron insisted again.

Harry didn't want to believe him. At a loss for words, he looked at Hermione, but she only nodded. "He stared at you without even blinking. And he whispered something! It looked like he was cursing your broom!"

"Nonsense!" Hagrid grumbled as he served the three kids some tee. "Why would 'e do somethin' like tha'?"

"Because he wanted Slytherin to win the game!" Ron cried.

Harry frowned and then felt his stomach lurch. Suddenly he remembered Snape's words: _"All you have to do is to keep yourself upright on your broom," _the boy recited in a whisper.

"What?" asked Ron. Hermione and Hagrid looked over at him.

"Snape told me that yesterday…when I was asking him for my book back. He said I didn't need to worry about maneuvers; I should just make sure I stay on my broom. How did he know that was gonna happen today?"

Ron and Hermione starred at Harry with open mouths. But Hagrid plunked down into his chair and said, "Nonsense. I think you musta misunderstood somethin', Harry. Perfessor Snape wo' never harm a student!"

"But he just tried to!" Ron yelled.

Harry didn't say anything. His whole body was boiling with a strange, mixed feeling of anger and hurt. He stared at his shoes.

Hermione nodded. "He was completely focused on Harry's broom!"

"But why would 'e do somethin' like tha'?" Hagrid asked again.

"Who knows what Snape's thinking… Why does he want to get past the three-headed dog?" Ron shot back.

Hagrid nearly dropped his cup of tea. "How do you know about Fluffy?"

"Fluffy?" Ron repeated. "That _thing_ has a name?"

"Of course. It's mine!" Hagrid replied with pride.

"Well…Then let's hope Snape won't find a way past _Fluffy_!"

Hagrid shook his head vehemently. "Now you three, listen! I think yer goin' down the wrong path. Perfessor Snape wouldn't hurt er steal anythin'. He an' some other teachers pertect the st… erm… the _thing_. Ya shouldn't wrack yer brains about tha'. The _thing_ is well pertected. Dumbledore and Nicolas Flamel are the only ones tha' need ta concern themselves about it."

"Nicolas Flamel?" repeated Harry, suddenly glancing up from the floor with big eyes. "So someone named Nicolas Flamel has something to do with the _thing_?"

Hagrid looked angry, mostly with himself. "Stop. Enough! I'm not sayin' another word!" And with that, the kind and always friendly Hagrid sent the children back to the castle.

But Ron and Hermione were far from disconcerted. They chatted excitedly the whole way back about what they had discovered. The new piece to the puzzle.

Harry was quiet again, thinking about his broom, and the thing under the trapdoor…and Snape. The whole mess made him dizzy with confusion.


	6. Erised

Erised

Throughout the few days before the Christmas holidays, Professor Snape's bad mood didn't improve. Harry was casting him odd looks and Severus knew he had to talk to the boy, but a more pressing issue kept his mind occupied. Professor Quirrell.

Severus had no proof that his stuttering colleague cursed Potter's broom, but he was sure that Quirrell had something to do with it. It was dark magic that caused Potter's broom to buck. And since Quirrell was the _Defense Against the Dark Arts_ teacher, naturally he would have to know something about dark magic.

Severus could not imagine why Professor Quirrell would do something like that, but he also knew that it was inconceivable of a student to carry out such a stunt.

It was now the second unexplainable incident in which Severus believed his colleague had his finger in the pie. First the troll, now Potter's broom.

With his mind so occupied with this matter, Professor Snape was glad to see that at least Potter was busy with something else. In the last few days the boy and his friends had spent a great amount of their leisure time in the library. It seemed they were doing some kind of research, but it was obvious they were having a difficult time finding information.

Severus noted Potter's frustrated face more than once. The boy would shut a book with a _snap_ and droop back onto the sofa cushion, casting a dark glare toward the remaining pile of books before him. But Severus paid no mind to this; as long as the boy was busy with his books, he would not get himself into trouble.

One day at dinner while Severus was glancing over the list of the students who would remain over the Christmas holidays, he spotted Harry's name and wondered, not for the first time, why the boy wasn't eager to go home. Of course he knew that something in Harry's home life was not as it should be. And uncovering that secret was a task Severus was looking forward to, but not with delight.

Perhaps he would find time for that after the Christmas holidays…

Severus sighed and shook his head. Why was it always he who ended up uncovering secrets and mysteries?

Ooo

When the holidays finally began and most of the children had gone home, Severus sighed in relief, basking in the silence. He did not like Christmas at all, but he loved the student-less peace and quiet. To him, that was the best Christmas present he could receive.

It seemed that Potter and his friend had also slowed down in their research. He now saw the two boys sitting often in the Great Hall playing chess. As far as Severus could tell from his place at the teachers' table, Potter wasn't very good at this game. But the boy didn't seem unhappy about that.

Severus could not imagine how someone who had suffered one defeat after another could still play the game with such enthusiasm. It was obvious that, to the boy, it did not matter who won. He was thoroughly enjoying himself.

In such moments Harry did not look like his father, James, but more like his mother. Severus once adored Lily for this attribute. And it was disturbing to find pieces of Lily in this boy, who looked so much like his father. Severus had hated James Potter to no end. But he loved Lily Evans.

It was moments like these that made Severus determined to help the boy, and if Harry was being mistreated at home, he owed it to Lily to protect her son.

Ooo

Unfortunately, Severus' beloved silence was disturbed when the professor noted that his unreadable colleague, Professor Quirrell, was spending far too much time up in the third-floor corridor. Whenever Severus tried to extract an explanation from Quirrell, his colleague began stuttering worse than ever.

One evening he cornered Quirrell and was about to take him to task, just as Filch cut in. The caretaker was holding a broken lantern in one hand and was driveling something about a student in the restricted section of the library.

Severus growled angrily. He cast Quirrell a deadly glare and finally loosened his grip on Quirrell's cloak. The frightened professor hurried away as fast as he could.

Now Severus was livid. It was long after curfew and absolutely no student had the right to wander around, not even during the holidays.

Severus hasted along the corridor with Filch in tow. He suddenly stopped in his tracks, believing for a short moment to have heard something. But listening carefully, all he could hear was Filch's hard breathing.

At first Severus was sure he would catch the student quickly, but when he did not he parted ways with Filch. The caretaker hobbled off toward another corridor, and Severus slinked back in the direction where he believed he had heard something. And sure enough he now spotted an ajar door leading to an old, unused classroom.

Of course Severus had believed Harry to be the marauder the moment he learned where the broken lantern was found. What other student would wander around the library at night? And who would feel the need to break into the restricted section?

Ignoring the rules and wandering around at night were more than unwelcome attributes the boy had inherited from his father. But that fact didn't change Severus' determination to put this boy in his place once and for all. If Harry were in his house, under his care, the boy would be in for a spanking, no question about it.

With a grim face Severus burst into the room, but then he stopped when he found himself looking right into the lovely and beaming face of Lily. She was smiling at him, and the image took Severus' breath away. She was so beautiful, so gorgeous and unharmed, so… alive.

She stood there with her dark red hair and beautiful green eyes, smiling her gentle smile at her son, who was standing right before her in front of an old mirror.

Severus was certain the boy could see his father too, as he was looking back and forth between his mother and a person Severus could not see.

Harry's face was pinched in confusion. He stuck out his hand to touch and feel his parents, as if he didn't realize that they were only in the mirror; ­that they didn't exist. Watching this stabbed Severus' heart painfully.

Harry looked so small and lost, and Severus realized that Harry probably had no memories of his parents. He would never know how wonderful it sounded when Lily laughed or how beautiful her voice was. He would never know the kind of person his mother was when she was playful or coltish, or how her eyes gleamed when she was caught up in one of her ideas. Harry would never know how lovely she smelled or how silky her hair was.

As Harry suddenly turned around Severus was at lost how to proceed. He was still angry, but he felt sympathy for the kid.

"Professor Snape!" Harry gasped as he noticed the looming shadow in the doorway.

Severus got a grip on himself and straightened up. "Mr. Potter. What a surprise to meet you at this late hour out of your common room."

Harry gulped. He had nearly forgotten what he had done before finding himself face to face with his parents. Finally Harry dropped his head.

"I take it you were the one in the library?" Snape continued.

Harry swallowed again and nodded.

"I prefer a vocal answer," Severus snapped, easily returning to normal self.

Harry winced. "Yes, Sir," he said in a small voice.

"And where exactly in the library did you go?"

Harry looked up with a tortured face, "In the restricted section, Sir," he whispered.

"And what did you believe you would find there?"

Harry bit his bottom lip and glanced back over his shoulder. He was obviously uncomfortable, getting reprimanded in front of the mirror, where he had seen his parents for the first time in his life.

Severus sighed and rubbed his temples.

"Let's go in my office," he said in a weary voice.

Harry just nodded.

As he drew nearer to the door where Snape stood, he almost stopped to pick up his invisibility cloak but he realized that professor Snape would confiscated it in an instant, so he went on and tried to memorize the way back to the mirror; he would get his new cloak later.

It was a silent trip to Snape's office.

Ooo

"All right, Harry. Could you tell me why you thought the restricted section would withhold information from first years, when all students are only allowed in with special permission?"

Harry hung his head and shrugged.

" Enough of this nonsense!" Snape barked, furious, "You _will_ talk to me even if I have to loosen your tongue by warming your bottom _first_!"

Harry's head jerked up. Horrified, he looked at his professor. "I'm sorry, Sir!"

"Well then, speak!"

Harry realized there was no way out of this. He really didn't want to end up over Snape's knees, but he had also no idea what Snape would say when he learned the truth.

"I was looking for information about Nicolas Flamel," Harry said and bit his bottom lip again. If it was really Snape who tried to steal the thing under the trapdoor he wasn't going to be very happy about this.

But to Harry's surprise, Snape was a bit taken aback. "Nicolas Flamel?" he repeated. "Why would you search for information about him in the restricted section? It contains books about dark magic, and Flamel has nothing to do with that."

"Well… I didn't know that. We tried to find some information about him in nearly all the books in the library, and we didn't find anything, so we thought… maybe… we would find something in the restricted section."

"I hardly believe you looked very close at the books in the library. Flamel isn't that big of a secret. Maybe you looked at the wrong books… What exactly did you hope to find?"

"We tried to find something about his connection to Dumbledore, to find out something… about the thing that Fluffy is protecting." Harry didn't realize what he had said until it was too late. He paled and clapped his hand over his mouth.

"Fluffy?!" Severus barked, enraged. "How do you know about Fluffy? You promised me you would stay away from there! And I promised _you_ what would happen if you disobeyed!"

Harry stepped back, shaking his head frantically, "I wasn't there again. I swear. Hagrid told us the name!" he said quickly and clutched his backside unconsciously. This was the second time within a few minutes that Snape had threatened him with a spanking, and Harry wondered if he would actually get out of Snape's office without receiving one.

Suddenly Harry realized that he had betrayed Hagrid, and so he explained, "He didn't just tell us the dog's name. It slipped. And well… he wasn't very happy about that. He said we should keep our noses out of this because it's just something about Dumbledore and Flamel. Well… he didn't want to say Flamel's name either. That slipped too." Harry fell silent again, because his babbling wasn't helping anyone. Not him and _definitely_ not Hagrid.

"And why, pray tell, did you not just drop the topic when you were told to keep your nose out?"

"I couldn't!" Harry insisted and sighed in frustration.

Severus raised an eyebrow as curiosity took over. "You couldn't?"

Harry scratched the back of his head. "Well, when Hagrid took me to Gringotts he picked up a strange package. He asked me to keep quiet about it since it was top secret Hogwarts business. I nearly forgot about it, but a few days later I read about somebody breaking into Gringotts. So I was curious again. And I told my friends about it.

After we saw the three-headed dog we knew the package was here in Hogwarts and the dog was guarding it. And then there was the troll… Well we think he was a distraction, that someone tried to steal the thing and well, we still don't know what it is, so we're looking for little pieces of the puzzle. And… your leg, Sir, it was all bloody that day. You know what the dog is protecting, don't you?"

"Of course I do," Severus said in a much calmer voice. After hearing the boy's story he could at least understand why Harry was so determined to uncover the secret about the stone.

Harry looked at him with big, green eyes.

Severus nearly burst out laughing, "You honestly don't think that _I of all people_ would tell you, do you?"

Harry's falling face spoke volumes.

"Harry, listen, and listen carefully. If Professor Dumbledore would have wanted any student to learn about the third floor corridor and what is hidden there, he would have mentioned it at the welcome feast. But he didn't. On the contrary, he warned all of you to keep away! So why do you think you're an exception? Just because Hagrid isn't able to keep his mouth shut does not mean you should know any of this! And I _forbid_ you to search further!"

"But-" Harry began but was cut off by Snape.

"No _buts_, Harry. What the dog is protecting is none of your concern."

"But I think-" Harry tried again but was cut off a second time.

"It doesn't matter what you are thinking! It is none of your business!"

Harry sighed, frustrated, and dropped down on the chair in front of Snape's desk, thinking desperately about a way to bring his point home. Finally he spoke.

"Sir, I don't think that I'm special or anything. But don't you think _everyone_ would be curious if they would have seen the package from the start? I_ was_, and I know it's just a small thing and obviously really important, but I can't just forget about it when there's been so much fuss. All I want to know is what's in the package."

"But what would you do with the information about it? In what way would it help?" Severus asked. He understood the boy more than he let on.

"It would help because then I wouldn't have to search anymore and make myself crazy over it."

Now it was Severus' turn to sigh. He studied Harry for a long time. It wasn't the boy's fault that the stupid half-giant didn't know anything about discretion. And of course curiosity would have taken over an eleven-year-old. He was only a child. And this evening proved how far Harry was willing to go to still his curiosity. Perhaps he would continue to live more perilously without the information...

"Do you like chocolate frogs?" Snape finally asked.

Harry stared at Snape as if he had lost his mind. "Sir?"

"Chocolate frogs. You know what chocolate frogs are, don't you?"

"Yes, Sir, of course," Harry was still confused. _Where was this leading?_

"Well then you know that the cards inside of the chocolate frogs show pictures of celebrated witches and wizards."

"Yeah. Ron collects them. And I have one, too. About Albus Dumble…" Harry slowed down, suddenly remembering something. Then he clapped his hand against his forehead. "I'm so stupid!" he moaned, but then he grinned.

Severus raised an eyebrow. Obviously Harry had gotten the hint. But before the boy freaked out completely, Severus made a point to deflate his excitement. There was still the matter of tonight's rule-breaking to discuss.

"Let us return to the fact that you were out of your common room after curfew and in the restricted section of the library…"

The gleam in Harry's eyes vanished in an instant. "I'm sorry, Sir. It won't happen again!"

Severus smirked.Did the boy really believe he would get away with a meager apology?

"This night wandering is going to stop, young man. Today you broke two rules, so you will receive two detentions with me. I will inform you about the details of your detentions as soon as possible, and rest assured I _will _not forget them!"

"Yes, Sir," Harry mumbled. Oh well, it could have been worse. Two detentions were nothing compared to the threat of-

"If I catch you out of your common room after curfew once more, I will make sure you are very sorry."

Harry gulped. Okay, the _double _threat of a spanking.._. _"Yes Sir, it won't happen. I mean being out after curfew."

"Well. We will see, won't we?"

With these words Professor Snape walked over to the office door and held it open for Harry. Taking the hint, the boy stood up. He debated about going to get his invisibility cloak or going straight to his dormitory and getting the cloak tomorrow.

But when Harry saw Snape falling into line beside him, he looked up and asked, "You're going with me?"

"Of course. It's late and I do not want you getting lost on your way back."

Harry flushed. _Was Snape reading his mind? And if so, did he know about the invisibility cloak?_

They walked in silence for a long while, and Harry's mind drifted back to everything that had happened tonight. Suddenly he remembered why he had been so confused about Snape since the Quidditch match.

"Sir?" he prompted.

"Yes?"

"The day before the Quidditch match you told to me that I didn't have to learn loads of moves, just that I needed to stay on my broom. Why did you say that? Did you know what was gonna happen?"

Severus was slightly taken aback. The Quidditch match was several weeks ago. But of course he knew that this question would come up sooner or later.

"No. What I meant was that nobody expects wonders of you. And you seemed to be making yourself crazy with the book. You were putting yourself under too much stress."

Harry was relieved to hear that. He'd never wanted to believe that it was Snape who tried to hurt him.

"Do you know why my broom did that?" Harry continued.

"No. I'm working on that. Whoever it was will be expelled from this school!"

"You think it was a student?" Harry asked, unbelieving.

"As I said before, I'm not certain." Severus had no desire to reveal his suspicions about Professor Quirrell to the boy.

"I was so scared. I was sure I was gonna crash to the ground!"

"That would not have happened. There were many teachers watching."

Harry smiled to himself. "Oh… well, then, thanks," he whispered. "Thanks for saving my life again."

"Why do you think it was me?" Severus asked, curious.

Harry smiled shyly. "Well, Hermione told me she saw you through her field glasses. And you were staring at me, whispering something."

"Did she?"

"Yeah, well… she thought you were the one who cursed my broom."

Severus suddenly stopped. "Miss Granger. I should have known. _She_ was the one who set my robes on fire…"

Harry chuckled.

"Do you have any idea how expensive those are?"

Harry could not hold back his laughter anymore.

"_Stop_ laughing," Severus said angrily. "One blink of my eye, and you could have died!"

"So it _was_ you who saved my life…" Harry grinned mischievously. But it wasn't the way James would have grinned. It was the same way Lily often did when she was in a playful mood.

Severus got goose bumps. _How much of Lily was in this boy?_

"Harry, I want you to be careful," he said in a stern voice.

The smile on Harry's face vanished. "Do you think someone wants to hurt me?"

"I don't know. But you must keep your eyes open. Don't wander around alone in dark corridors."

Harry nodded and frowned thoughtfully. It was obvious that Snape was worried. No one had ever been worried about his safety before, and Harry had no idea how to handle this new feeling. Of course he would be more careful, but Snape didn't know about his new invisibility cloak. Who could harm him under that?

Ooo

That night Harry was plagued with nightmares. Again and again a jet of green light woke him up. And the boy knew he had to go back to the mirror. He had to see his family unharmed and alive.

Ooo

In the days that followed, Severus noted Harry's absence at mealtimes in the Great Hall, and if the boy eventually came down to eat something, he was in a strange mood. His vision was unfocused most of the time. His friend tried to get through to him, but Harry seemed very huffy and irritable about that.

_What__'s wrong with the boy now?_ Severus groaned to himself.

When one evening Severus saw Weasley waiting for Harry outside the Great Hall for dinner, he decided to investigate. Harry hadn't gone to breakfast _or_ lunch and it was obvious that something was wrong.

"Where is Potter?" Professor Snape asked the Weasley boy.

Ron was nervous. He looked up at Snape with uncertain eyes. "He wanted to meet me here."

"And how long have you been waiting?"

"I'm sure he'll come!" Ron said, more to himself.

"Mr. Weasley, it has not escaped my attention that Mr. Potter has missed several meals in the last few days. Can you guess why Mr. Potter would not come down to eat?"

Ron gulped and looked down at his shoes.

"Where is he?" Professor Snape asked angrily.

"He… he's been looking into the mirror most of the time. It's very strange. Harry said he can see his family in there, but I couldn't see them," Ron finally told his professor. He felt awful for betraying his friend, but he was very worried about Harry.

"The mirror?" Severus repeated and shook his head. How could he have forgotten the mirror? He had never talked to the boy about it, and sure enough, Harry went to see his parents again.

"Thank you, Weasley. I think you should go and get some food. Potter will not come. You can see him later in the common room."

Ooo

Severus cursed himself under his breath as he walked down the corridor to the old, unused classroom where he knew the mirror was. As he entered the room, Harry was sitting on the floor hugging his knees and starring up at the mirror. A faint smile curved his lips, and there were tears in his eyes.

The professor watched Harry for a while. But the boy just sat there, captured in tangled feelings of delight and pain.

"Harry?" Severus called out to the boy, but he didn't react. "Harry!" Severus repeated but there was still no reaction from him.

Carefully the professor moved closer, calling Harry's name again and again. But Harry did not move an inch.

Severus kneeled down to the boy's level and whispered once more, "_Harry_?"

"Dad?" the boy finally asked with glassy eyes, still gazing at the mirror.

"No, Harry. Your father is dead," Severus told him as gently as possible.

"No, look!" Harry pointed toward the mirror. "He's right there!"

"No, he is _not_ there. No one except you can see him. He is just an illusion. Your father is dead just like your mother."

"My mum isn't dead. She's alive… and she's beautiful!"

"She _was_ beautiful when she was alive, Harry. And I understand that you want her to _be_ alive. But she isn't. She died ten years ago. She was murdered in a horrid way, and I will never forget that day."

More tears poured down the boy's face. "She isn't dead!" he whispered frantically, as if the words alone would keep her alive.

Severus swore under his breath. This was going nowhere. He looked up at Lily's mirror image, hoping to find some assistance. But Lily just smiled.

"I wish it were so, Harry…" Severus whispered and then he laid his hand on Harry's arm.

Suddenly the boy sat up straighter and shouted, "She's alive!" But as the words left his lips, he hugged his knees more closely. "Look. Just look at her. She's right there!"

"Harry. I _am_ looking. I'm looking at _you_! And I can see you are beside yourself. Why don't you look at me?"

Harry frowned. "But I _am_ looking at you too, dad!"

"No, Harry. Look at _me_. I am Professor Snape."

Harry knitted his brows in confusion, but then he whispered, "I can't…"

"Of course you can!" Severus tried to convince the boy.

But Harry's eyes went glassy again and he said in a strange voice. "Dad, all I can see is you, mum and me. There's no one else!"

Severus felt the urge to scream; he felt the urge to just turn Harry around and force the boy to look at him. But he knew that would be dangerous; Harry might black out completely if he were startled out of his delusion.

He took a deep breath. "Why don't you turn around so you can see me more closely?"

"I don't want to. Mum, tell him I don't want to look away!"

Severus closed his eyes. He had no idea how to proceed. It was obvious that in Harry's mind, everything he was saying was transformed to James' words. Harry believed he was talking to his dad. Perhaps Severus would be more successful if he engaged in the game.

"But Harry, didn't you want to meet with Ron for dinner? I'm sure he's waiting!"

"Ron?" Harry asked, confused. "He said he can't see you. Could you see him?"

"We can see whatever you want us to see. But away from the mirror, you can see much more than you do now. You can see the sun every day rising and setting. You can fly a broom and play with your friends. Don't waste your life looking at us. We live deep inside you, and we want to see more of your world. Just show us your world. Tell us who is with you. Who is the man standing beside you?"

Harry frowned and cocked his head. He looked as though he did not understand what he was told to do. But slowly Harry turned his head to the side. When he recognized Professor Snape, he jerked violently. He wanted to look back at the mirror but this time Severus shoved himself between the boy and the image of his parents.

"No, Harry! I want you to look at _me_!" The boy glanced up at Snape with a questioning look. As he stared into Severus' eyes, he slowly became aware of his world.

He struggled to his feet and staggered back a few steps. "No. Please let me look at mirror again!"

"I'm sorry Harry but I cannot let you-"

"Please! They'll die!" Harry begged and new tears found their way down the boy's cheeks.

"They are _already_ dead, Harry! For ten years now. There is nothing you can do to revive them. The mirror is lying! It shows you your parents alive, because you _wish_ them to be alive. It is your heart's deepest desire. But it will never come true, no matter how long you stare at this mirror."

Harry started to tremble and more and more tears streamed down his face.

"But why? Why did they have to die?" he cried in a heartbreaking voice.

Severus would never have believed that he would be fighting against tears of his own. But this boy was breaking through the solid wall that protected his heart against pain of any kind.

As Harry started to sway, Severus leaped forward to catch the boy. Harry clung to him for dear life and started to cry hard.

Severus wasn't able to stand any longer. Slowly he lowered himself and the boy to a sitting position on the floor.

Holding the boy tight to his chest, he silently cursed Albus for his carelessness. Why had the headmaster left this mirror in such a public place, an open classroom, where anyone could come in?

Harry cried for a long time and Severus had no idea what to do except hold him and wait. _Has this boy ever cried for his parents before?_ he asked himself. It seemed as if Harry had just become aware for the first time that he had no parents.

Harry was crying the same way Severus had ten years ago when it was Albus who had held him. He assured Severus that life would go on, even if our love ones died. And Albus predicted that a part of Lily would live on inside her son, Harry Potter.

Until this moment Severus did not understand what Albus meant. But now he did. Harry himself was a part of Lily, because he was her _son_. And he was as lonely as Severus was. Missing the same wonderful woman in his life.

Severus looked at the traitorous mirror that held Lily's image and said, "I promise I will look after him." But all Lily did was smile.

"She really is dead, isn't she?" a small voice asked and Severus looked back at the little boy in his arms.

Teary eyes were gazing up at him, and Severus nodded grimly. He wished he could cry too. He did not trust his voice so he just smoothed his hand over Harry's hair.

Slowly the boy straightened himself up. His eyes automatically searched for the mirror, but Severus took Harry's head in his hands and forced the boy to look at him.

"Do not look back, Harry," he said in a soft voice. "It's not good for you. You will forget to live"

Harry tried to free himself but Severus held him tight. "Let them go. They are more alive if you let them live in you. But to make that possible _you_ have to live! Can you understand that? They'll live just as long as you do!"

Finally Harry stopped fighting Severus' grip. And he looked deep into his professor's eyes.

"Is she also living in you?" he asked in a whisper.

"Yes. I loved your mum as well. I knew her long before we started at Hogwarts. She was the most loveable person I ever met."

"I wish, I'd known her," Harry said and looked down at the floor. "But all I remember of her is her screaming and a green light"

Severus was shocked to hear that. He didn't realize that Harry might remember that day. He was only a year old.

"I'm sorry, Harry. I didn't know."

"My scar still burns when I dream about that day. I never understood the dream when I was small; I thought it was my mum I heard screaming, but my aunt and uncle told me that my parents died in a car crash and the green light never made any sense to me. Now I know what it was, but I wish I _didn't_ know. Because now I can even see _him_. That's when my scar starts to burn and I wake up."

Severus gently stroked his thumb along the boy's forehead around the lighting shape. He didn't dare to actually touch it. Big green eyes looked deep into his. And suddenly Severus remembered something strange he had noticed on Harry's first school day.

He was talking with Professor Quirrell when the boy had looked at him for the first time. And he remembered that Harry had suddenly rubbed his scar. Was it burning at that moment?

"Does your scar sometimes burn during classes?"

Harry frowned. "Yeah, sometimes…" he finally admitted.

"Can you tell me when exactly?"

"Erm… when I'm in Defense Against the Dark Arts mostly."

Severus' heartbeat doubled. Had he found a clue? But what did Professor Quirrell have to do with the Dark Lord? He wasn't a Death Eater as far as Severus knew. After some more musing he shoved these thoughts aside and looked back down at the boy. He needed to get food in the small body.

"Come with me," Severus said, standing slowly once more.

Harry also struggled to his feet, coming back to himself. He suddenly hung his head in shame when he became aware that he'd cried like a baby in the arms of his Potions professor. Harry hid his face in his hands.

But Severus was relieved to see the boy return to his normal state. It was, however, a shame that Harry felt so embarrassed about the situation that he was not able to make eye-contact anymore.

With red glowing ears, Harry followed Snape until he found himself in the professor's office.

"Am I in trouble now?"

"Tell me, when are you not?" Severus asked. Slowly he was finding his way back to his old self as well.

"I'm sorry," Harry whispered.

"And what exactly are you sorry for?" Severus asked as he closed his office door.

"That I went back to the mirror. I didn't see any harm in it…"

Severus nearly smiled at the boy. He took Harry by his shoulders, guiding him into the chair in front of his desk before crouching down to eye-level with the boy.

"Harry, you are an eleven year old boy. You did not know anything about magic for most of your life. How would you be able to recognize such a dangerous piece of magic? Your training has just begun. It was _my_ mistake. I should have told you about the Mirror of Erised when I found you there the first time. So surprisingly, there is nothing I can blame you for. But I can't say the same for your friend, Mr. Weasley."

"Oh no!" Harry moaned and hid his face in his hands again. He had been so awfully grumpy to Ron.

"You are lucky to have a friend like him," Severus said, and Harry peered up at him through his fingers.

"You mean…I _had_ a friend!" he sulked.

"Oh, I do not believe you will lose your friend so easily," Severus said as he straightened up again. Stretching his aching back, he rounded his desk and took as seat in his own chair.

"But what _if_? Harry asked. "I've never had a friend like him before!" He was worried. "And I haven't been very nice to him…"

"Well then, I suggest you apologize to him."

"Okay," Harry said and started to stand up.

"Not so fast, young man! There is still something we have to address."

Harry face paled a little. He had thought he wasn't in any trouble this time. But Severus just smirked and waved his wand. A plate full of sandwiches and a pot of tea appeared out of nowhere.

"You did not eat anything today. So you will do it now."

"Thanks," Harry whispered, and his cheeks turned pink. He took one of the sandwiches while Severus poured the tea into the cups. As Harry watched Snape take a small sip from his tea and close his eyes, he noticed his professor looked very tired.

Harry wondered about the events of this evening. He also wondered about Snape. He still could not believe he had cried against the man's chest. But it felt so good to do so. It felt so good being held tight to someone. This man was so completely different in private than he was in class. He was far more emotional when he was alone with just Harry.

In class he hid himself behind a mask of stone. He was unfair to the Gryffindors, especially to Ron and Neville and to Harry. But Harry had learned to see behind all of the insults, and he knew it all was just a show. He still didn't know why Snape's show was such an important one to keep up. But he had forgiven his professor long ago.

Snape tried to stick to his reputation; he had said that himself. And Harry didn't mind as long as he knew he could count on his professor in private.


	7. Incident in the forbidden forest

I'm sorry it took me this time that long, but I gave life to my second son and was a little bit busy with other things. Thanks for your patience.

**Incident in the forbidden forest**

Harry felt a tight knot in his throat as he neared the portrait of the fat lady. What should he say to Ron? How could he apologize for his awful treatment of him? Had he lost his friend?

Taking a deep breath, he entered the Gryffindor common room.

"Harry!" Ron yelled and hurried over from his seat near the fire. "I'm so sorry, mate."

Harry stared at him, befuddled. "Sorry? What for?" he finally managed to ask.

"It was _me_ who sent Snape after you. I'm sorry. I was so worried about you and… well, he kind of seemed to know that something was wrong with you and so I told him about the strange mirror… and he seemed to understand. I didn't mean-"

"Stop," Harry interrupted his friend's babble. "There is absolutely nothing _you_ should be sorry for. _I _need to apologize."

"But, Snape - " Ron started again, "Didn't he find you?"

"Yes, he did. And it was… well, it was good he found me. I was totally lost in the mirror. And you were right. The mirror…" Harry gulped back tears, "…the mirror lies."

Harry hung his head. It felt as he had lost his parents all over again; he missed them so much. He realized he would never be able to go back to the mirror and see them: his mum's angelic smile, his dad's proud look...

"I wish I could say _I know how you feel_ and give you some stupid advice, but I have no idea how you feel. I can't even imagine what it would be like to lose my parents," said Ron helplessly.

Harry looked at his friend and smiled faintly. "It's okay, Ron."

After a short pause, Ron's curiosity got the better of him. "So what did Snape do to you?"

"Well…" Harry looked at his toes. "We just talked." Harry didn't want to say anything about crying like a baby in Snape's arms although he was sure he still had red-rimmed eyes.

"He didn't give you detention?" Ron asked, astonished.

"No. But I still have to do evenings with him. And he wants to start tomorrow after dinner."

"Humpf. Horrible old bat!"

Harry flinched inwardly. He didn't agree with his friend. Snape was strict, yes, but he also was fair, and he had been good to Harry. But Harry couldn't see a way to point this out to his friend without revealing too much about his relationship with the professor, and he was afraid doing so might cost him his friendship with Ron, as Ron seemed to really hate the potion professor.

-ooo-

The remaining days of the Christmas holidays passed without incident. During his detentions, Harry helped Snape brew potions and learned many helpful brewing tricks. He found himself enjoying working alongside the professor since it was completely different than Potions class. Instead of scathing remarks from Snape, he received useful instructions.

During these evenings, Snape tried to bring up the Dursleys a few times, but Harry skillfully avoided the questions and talked about something else. It frustrated Snape a bit, but he was reluctant to press harder and scare Harry away entirely.

At night, Harry often dreamed about his parents. Sometimes it was a pleasant dream, but all too often it was a nightmare which ended in a green light and Harry waking up with a scream. After every nightmare, though, Ron was at his side and Harry was once again very grateful for their friendship.

All too quickly, the holidays ended, and the other students came back to Hogwarts.

-ooo-

"Did you find out anything about Flamel?" was Hermione's first question as she met Ron and Harry in the common room.

Ron shook his head. Hermione looked disappointed, but then Harry remembered something.

"Chocolate frogs!" he exclaimed, causing Ron and Hermione to give him an odd look.

"Chocolate frogs?" Ron repeated.

"Yeah, do you have your card with Dumbledore's picture?" Harry asked excitedly.

"Yes," Ron said, still confused. He pulled out the card in question.

Harry took it and looked over the text on the back side. "Here," he said, pointing with his finger to the names of Albus Dumbledore and Nicolas Flamel.

Hermione's eyes grew larger. Then suddenly she hit her forehead and said, "I'm so stupid!"

"_You_ said it," Ron agreed, hoping to irritate the girl.

But Hermione was no longer there to hear him. She had vanished up the stairs to the girls' dormitory. Ron and Harry exchanged bewildered looks, but almost immediately she returned with an old, heavy book under her arm.

As she reached the boys, she laid the book on the table and said, "That's why we didn't find anything. We didn't go far enough back in time."

Once Hermione found the page she was looking for, she started to read. Moments later: "Here! Here it is," she yelled excitedly.

Harry and Ron looked at where she was pointing and found the information they had been seeking for so long. Now at last, they knew what was under the trapdoor.

"The Philosopher Stone. Blimey! Who wouldn't want to have that? I mean, you can even produce gold with it. No wonder Snape wants to have it!" Ron said.

"We don't know if it is Snape," Harry retorted quickly.

"What other teacher would go against Dumbledore? He's the only one who'd do something like that," Ron argued.

Again Harry wished he could tell Ron that it had been Snape who had given him the hint about the chocolate frog cards, but he was sure Ron wouldn't believe him… not unless Harry also revealed all the other information he still wanted to hide.

-ooo-

The next Quidditch game approached, and this time it was Gryffindor versus Hufflepuff. The news that Snape would be the referee spread like wildfire.

"The cheating bugger," Ron grumbled. "Since he couldn't stop you winning the first game, he's trying sabotage this one. You'd better be careful, mate. No one knows what he'll get up to this time."

Harry sighed. Unlike Ron, he felt relieved to know that Snape would be so close by during the game. He felt more secure. Maybe this way Snape would be able to find the culprit if anyone attacked him again.

"You should go to the headmaster, Harry," Ron said again, as Harry seemed to ignore his words.

"Ron, I don't think Snape will do anything. He can't attack me in the middle of the game without the other teachers noticing," Harry said, trying to distract his friend.

"But he did last time! Nobody stopped him till 'Mione set him on fire."

Harry sighed again, "But what if Snape had just been trying to stabilize my broom?"

Ron burst out laughing. It took a long time until he got a grip on himself. "That was a good one, Harry," he gasped.

-ooo-

The second Quidditch game wasn't very spectacular, although Harry terrified his public with a breakneck stunt, diving after the Snitch and nearly colliding with Professor Snape in the process. But when he held up the tiny golden ball, the crowd went wild with excitement.

After the match, Harry took a long shower in the Gryffindor changing room, enjoying the silence and solitude. The sun stood very low, and a golden beam of light cleaved its way through the tent.

Harry felt tired but elated. Finally, he was someplace where he felt at home, where people liked him, where he was respected. He had never been so happy before. He had even found something he was really good at: he loved flying a broom and that carefree feeling when he was in the air.

As he finally left the changing room to go back to the castle, he noticed a moving shadow heading to the Forbidden Forest. Harry frowned. _Wasn't that Snape?_ But then Harry shook his head. _So what?_

Harry was nearly at the castle entrance when he suddenly heard a scream from the Forest. He stopped dead. _Was that Snape? Was he in danger?_ Nervously he gripped his broom tighter. He stared at the place where he had seen Snape vanish between the trees moments before.

Harry knew students weren't allowed into the woods. It was the _Forbidden_ Forest, after all, and he was sure that it contained plenty of dangerous creatures. But what if Snape really needed help? With everything the professor had done for him, Harry couldn't let him get hurt! Quickly mounting his broom, Harry flew into the Forest.

The air was cold, and Harry wished he had his cloak with him. As he flew over the tree tops, he noticed two human figures in the forest that seemed to be arguing. Harry landed in one of the nearby trees and tried to listen, but the rustling sound of leaves was too loud to hear anything. Cautiously, Harry climbed down a few feet.

He immediately recognized Professor Snape and Professor Quirrell. Snape looked furious, while Quirrell seemed to be terrified. Harry still didn't understand. _What was going on? Who had screamed?_

"And do you already know how to get past the dog?" Snape growled.

"T- t- the dog?" Quirrell stuttered blankly.

At his words, Snape looked even more irate. Taking a step closer, he loomed menacingly over poor Quirrell, who continued in his desperate attempt of convincing Snape that he didn't know anything.

Harry gulped. He had never seen Snape so angry before, and the man's wild-eyed appearance gave him the shivers.

_Maybe __Snape really was planning to steal the stone after all. Maybe Ron right about him…_ This Snape in the forest was not the Snape Harry thought he knew. This Snape was scary.

"It's not over. We _will_ talk again!" Snape hissed, contemptuously pushing Quirrell away. The shy professor stumbled, then recovered his footing and bolted towards Hogwarts.

Harry gulped and shuddered. He didn't know what to think. Why was Snape being so mean to Quirrell?

As the boy tried to climb up the tree again, he suddenly heard a crack and felt his footing slip. _No!_ he thought to himself, but it was already too late. The branch beneath him broke, and Harry tumbled headlong towards the earth.

-ooo-

Severus was still boiling with anger as he watched Quirrell's form vanish into the castle. He tried to decide what his next move should be, when he suddenly heard a dangerous _crack_ above his head, immediately followed by a muffled scream and the sound of several more branches breaking. He jumped aside just as a body fell to the ground in a shower of broken foliage. At first Snape didn't recognize the body, whose face was pressed against the ground. But then an all-too-familiar broom landed on top of the boy.

"Potter!" Snape said, shocked. _What_ _the hell was the boy doing here?_ Taken aback, he stared at the motionless boy.

When Harry tried to move, an unbearable pain shot through his body. He moaned and went limp again. It felt like every bone in his body was broken.

Harry's moan brought Professor Snape to his senses. He knelt down beside the child.

"Potter, you stupid boy. What did you do _now_?" he hissed furiously, taking out his wand. He cast a diagnostic spell to see how badly the boy was hurt.

Harry had been lucky, considering how far he had fallen, but he still had three broken ribs and some abrasions on his hands and face. More importantly, just below his right knee there was a larger gash which was bleeding badly.

Severus sealed the cut and then he checked over the ribs again. Just as he had feared: one of the broken ribs was dangerously near Harry's lung. One wrong movement could cause the rib to pierce the lung; such a wound was dangerous, even for wizards.

"Harry? Can you hear me?" Severus asked as the boy lay quietly – too quietly – during the diagnostic spells.

Harry wanted to reply, but all that came out was another groan. It hurt to breathe, let alone talk.

"I'm going to petrify you and levitate you up to the hospital wing. It's the safest way to move you. Do not panic and do not fight the spell."

Harry let out a little whimper of understanding, and within moments, he found himself floating face down over the ground. He wished he could see Snape's face to estimate how angry the professor was, but in his current position, it was impossible.

Severus was indeed angry. He could not imagine why Potter had followed him into the Forest. _Was the boy spying on me?_ he wondered. _How long had Harry been in the tree? How much did he hear?_ Severus sighed. If Harry hadn't been so badly injured, Severus would have spanked the boy on the spot for such a stunt. _Why does the boy think he can spy on me? I'm the spy here,_ Severus grumbled to himself on the way to the hospital wing.

As soon as they reached the hospital wing, Severus floated Harry to the nearest bed and lifted the levitation spell. The mattress was a bit softer than the floor in the forest had been, and the boy winced as his ribs shifted. He tried to turn over, but Snape immediately stopped him.

"Lie still, Potter," Severus hissed, placing a hand on Harry's back to stop the boy.

"I'm sorry," Harry whispered.

"Oh? And what exactly are you sorry for? For falling out of the tree, for being in the Forbidden Forest, or for spying on me?"

Harry became silent again. He no longer needed to _see_ Snape's face to know how angry the professor was. He could _hear_ it in the man's tone.

"I… I didn't mean to… I was just…" Harry tried to voice his thoughts, but it was so difficult.

"You were just what?" Snape asked impatiently.

_Worried__ about you,_ Harry thought to himself. But he couldn't bring himself to say it aloud, so he kept silent.

Severus sighed. "You just won your second Quidditch game. Why weren't you with the others at your celebration?"

"I'm sorry," Harry whispered after another moment.

"Oh yes, I'm sure you are _now_," Severus grumbled and went to fetch the Mediwitch.

-ooo-

Later that evening, Severus headed to the headmaster's office. He really had to speak to Dumbledore about the ridiculous Potter boy. This time, the child had gone too far. Something had to be done, or the boy would get himself killed.

"Severus, what a pleasure to see you. What brings you here?" Albus greeted his visitor.

"Two things," Severus answered. "First, I didn't get anything out of Quirrell. He still refuses to cooperate, but I'm sure he's hiding something."

"Do you still believe he was the one who let the troll into the school?" Albus asked.

"Who else? He brought the troll who's protecting the stone. That can't have been a coincidence."

"I assure you the stone is well protected even _if_ someone gets past all the obstacles. I updated the protections only yesterday, using an idea I had after Harry's incident with the mirror. Now I'm sure that absolutely nobody who wishes to use the stone will be able to find it, so we don't have to worry about it anymore."

"Speaking of Harry; that's the second thing I want to talk to you about. The boy is completely out of control."

Albus frowned. "What do you mean?"

Severus recounted what had happed after the Quidditch match.

"How is he doing now?" Albus asked, worried.

"He is sleeping in the hospital wing."

"Good," Albus said, leaning back in his chair.

"Good?" Severus repeated angrily. "There is nothing _good_ about it. The boy completely lacks any discipline. Since school started he has broken one rule after another. He is always wandering around the school, turning up in places he has no business being. You said we should protect the boy, but how are we to do that when the boy does as he wishes and nobody puts an end to such behavior? If we don't do something, the boy will get the Philosopher Stone himself."

"Don't you think you're overstating things a bit?" Albus asked, smiling fondly.

"No! Absolutely not! The boy already knows about the dog, and I'm sure he knows about the stone and what it is. And I'm also sure that the boy was trying to find out who's after the stone. Why else would he spy on me?"

Still smiling, Albus asked, "And what exactly do you think should be done?"

"The boy needs boundaries and clear consequences when he oversteps those boundaries. And I'm not talking about detentions. They seem to be useless as far as he's concerned."

"I think you should talk to Minerva about this. She is his Head of House, after all."

"Yes, but _you_ are the headmaster and you are his _guardian_, so it is up to you."

"But what would you say if I let Minerva punish one of your Slytherins?"

Indignantly, Severus glared at the headmaster. "We are not talking about just _any_ student. We are talking about _Potter_. You asked me to protect the boy. How shall I do this if I even can't be sure he's sleeping in his bed during the night? If Minerva were able to control Potter, she would have done so already!"

Slowly the smile on Albus' face faded. Severus had a point. He stroked his beard pensively. "Hmmm. I do see what you mean, but I still think it would be best if we talk about this with Minerva-"

A knock at the door interrupted him; an instant later, a worried-looking Minerva entered the office.

"Albus!" she started to speak as soon as she stepped inside. "Mr. Potter wasn't at dinner today, and Mr. Weasley and Ms. Granger told me they don't know where he is - "

"Ah, Minerva, don't worry. Harry is in the hospital wing."

"Don't worry? What is he doing in the hospital wing?" Minerva asked, shocked.

"He fell out of a tree," Albus explained calmly.

"In the _Forbidden_ _Forest_," Severus added, glaring at the Headmaster.

Minerva's eyes widened. "The Forbidden Forest? How did he get there?"

"By broom." Severus smirked at Minerva's expression.

"Oh my! _Why_ did he go there?"

"I assume that he saw me and followed me."

"But _why_?" Minerva could not imagine what would cause Harry to follow a professor into the Forbidden Forest.

"_That_ is the question, isn't it?" Severus snapped, hoping the boy's close call was enough to convince his colleague that they had to do something about Potter's behavior. "More importantly, however, what are we going to do to stop him from doing it again?"

"Stop him? What do you mean?" Minerva asked, now a bit skeptical.

"I am talking about boundaries and consequences. It's obvious that Potter has problems following even the most basic school rules, including those that exist to protect his safety."

"You mean you want to punish the boy," Minerva stated flatly, shooting her colleague a stern glare.

"It doesn't have to be _me_. But _someone_ should do something, because detentions don't have any effect on this boy. Maybe corporal punishment will."

Minerva still glared at Severus. "I know exactly what you are thinking, and I do _not_ agree. First you tell me that Harry was mistreated at home and now you tell me you want to physically punish him?"

"There is a difference between punishment and abuse!" Severus shouted angrily "The boy _needs_ limits, and he needs to _feel_ the consequences of violating those limits. Until he is held accountable for his actions, he will go further and further. Today was the Forbidden Forest, what do you think he'll do tomorrow?" Severus tried to calm himself, adding, "I know Harry is a special case. It's always hard to discipline children who have been mistreated. But we can't simply let this go. We will do him no favors by letting him think that rules don't apply to him, and as far as he is concerned, detentions are meaningless."

"So you intend to spank him?" Minerva asked disbelievingly. "And you think that's an appropriate response?" Severus nodded, but before he could say anything else, Minerva shook her head adamantly. "No."

Severus rolled his eyes in frustration.

"Harry is in _my_ house, and I don't use such punishments. I think the boy has gone through more than enough."

"More than enough indeed," Severus said, peeved. "Since the boy has arrived at Hogwarts he's nearly gotten himself killed _three_ times."

Minerva looked at him, puzzled.

Severus held up his fingers, counting off the incidents. "The three headed dog nearly bit his head off. The troll narrowly missed making mincemeat out of him, and after today's fall from the tree, one rib nearly pierced his lung. And I haven't even _mentioned_ his nightly corridor wanderings or the incident in the library's forbidden section or the episode with the mirror of Erised. Can you name one other student in the entire history of Hogwarts who has gotten into as much trouble as this boy has in just his first few months? How much more will you allow him to 'go through' before you get him under control?"

Minerva stared at him in shock, schooling her features to hide her somewhat hurt feelings. It was obvious she hadn't been aware of all of Harry's activities. "He knows about Fluffy?" she asked slowly.

Severus just nodded.

Minerva frowned in thought, but finally said, "I will have a long talk with Harry. However, I'm still quite certain he doesn't need a lesson over your knee, Severus."

Exasperated and angry, Severus glared first at her and then at Albus. Seeing no hope of changing their minds, he spun around and left the office.

-ooo-

The next morning, when Severus entered the hospital wing, Madam Pomfrey called him into her office. Pomfrey had checked Harry over more closely while the boy was still sleeping, and the Mediwitch had detected some disturbing things.

"Look at that, Severus," she said, handing the Potion Master a parchment containing Harry's medical record. "I know you've had some Healer training. What do you think?"

Snape scanned the document as Poppy continued, "Some of his bones have been broken and never set correctly. There is an awful scar on his right leg from what looks like a dog bite. And he had some faint scars along his waistline that I think were inflamed for some time and didn't heal over until after he started here at Hogwarts."

Severus frowned. He followed Poppy over to the sleeping boy. Harry was lying on his left side and the blanket didn't completely cover his back. Poppy gently lifted Harry's pajama top a bit and revealed the two scars.

"What do you think?" she whispered, looking sadly down at Harry.

Severus frowned. "I would say they were caused by a heavy wooden stick."

She sighed. "It's so awful to see a child treated like this."

"Yes. Bloody Muggles."

As Severus and Poppy returned to her office the Mediwitch said, "I also found out that he hasn't been vaccinated against dragon pox or any other wizards childhood illnesses. Obviously nobody taught his relatives about the risks not to vaccinating him against wizards' illnesses. And there is one more thing: His blood work shows a chronic lack of nutrients. I doubt he's had the chance to eat regularly. It's very disturbing, Severus. I'm worried about his welfare."

Severus nodded. He also wondered what Harry was going through at home. The medical report made it more than clear that there was something alarmingly wrong. But how could he make the boy speak?

-ooo-

When Harry woke up, he kept his eyes closed and started to stretch, but he halted in mid-movement and opened his eyes wide as memory returned. At the same time, he noticed someone at his side and nearly jumped out of his skin.

"Good morning, Mr. Potter," said a familiar silky voice.

Harry fumbled for his glasses, but he couldn't find them. So he squinted at the blurry figure next to him and said shyly, "Good morning, Sir."

Severus pulled out Harry's glasses and placed them on Harry's nose.

"Thanks," Harry whispered. He hung his head sheepishly as he remembered what had happened the day before.

After a moment of silence, Harry raised his head and looked at Snape anxiously. "Are you going to punish me now?" Memories of the man's earlier threats rang in his ears.

Severus shook his head. The question annoyed him to no end. _Why is that the first thing the boy always thinks about when he's done something foolish? _

"No. Professor McGonagall will speak with you about your behavior. Your punishment is up to her."

Harry nodded. He wasn't exactly relieved to hear that because he didn't know what to expect from his stern head of house. On the other hand, he was quite certain what Snape's punishment would have been, so maybe he _was_ better off with McGonagall.

"But I also want to talk to you. I'd like to know why you were spying on me," Severus said sternly.

Harry looked surprised. "I wasn't spying on you."

"What about yesterday? What do you call that?" Now Severus was curious.

"I…" Harry started and broke off again. He looked down at his fingers and searched for words. "I was just on my way back to the castle when I saw you going into the Forest. I was late because I wanted some time on my own after the Quidditch match. Sometimes all the fuss around me is too much and I just want some time alone, when it's quiet."

Severus studied the boy thoughtfully.

"Well…" Harry continued, "on my way back I saw you and I wondered where you were going, but I didn't follow you, not then. But then I heard a scream and I… I…" Harry stopped again. He didn't know how to say that he had been worried that something bad had happened to Snape.

But it wasn't necessary for Harry to go on; Severus understood, although he _was_ surprised that someone other than the headmaster was worried about his welfare. The corners of his mouth twitched a bit, and his face softened.

"Harry. You know that it is the teachers who protect the students, not the converse."

Harry's face grew hot. He kept his eyes locked on his nervously twisting fingers.

"What do you think you could have done if I had been in danger?"

Now Harry looked up. "I could have gone for help."

Severus cast a skeptical look at him. "Would you really have done that? Or would you have rushed to my side to try to do something?"

Harry was about to argue that of course he would have run for help, but then he closed his mouth with a snap. The professor was right. If he had been hurt, Harry would have gone to check on him first.

Severus nodded to himself. "Yes. Just as I suspected. You would have come to me without a single thought for your own safety."

Harry hung his head once more. He felt so stupid and young. And he felt exposed; it seemed the professor know him all too well.

"You have to learn to think before you act. You have to learn to see more than just the obvious."

"I'll try, Sir," Harry whispered miserably.

Severus nodded again. He felt touched by Harry's concern for him and was strongly reminded of Lily. She too had always been concerned about him, but he had never expected to find that attribute in the son of his most bitter rival from his schooldays. Severus sighed and then shook his head. _This is also Lily's son_, he reminded himself and focused his attention back at the problem at hand.

"Harry, there is something else we need to talk about," he said more gently.

Harry looked up at the change in his tone.

"Madame Pomfrey examined you while you were unconscious, and she shared her findings with me. They're alarming. You have several old wounds that didn't heal properly. And you have some scars on your back that are new."

Severus noticed the boy stiffen at these words.

"I know you don't want to talk about it, but it would make things much easier. The medical report is proof that you have been mistreated at home. Your relatives could face criminal charges if we report this to the Aurors or the Ministry of Magic. But more importantly, we can remove you from the house if you testify that you are beaten at home."

Harry closed his eyes tightly. "Uncle Vernon doesn't beat me," he said in a small voice.

"Harry-" Severus tried again but the boy shook his head vehemently.

"No, please. You don't understand."

"What exactly is it that I do not understand?"

"Please, I can't talk about it. He said I wouldn't like the consequences if I did, and that kind of promise is one he's sure to keep."

"But if he beats you, then -"

But Harry shook his head more wildly now "No, Sir, please. You're not listening. _He_ doesn't beat me. He doesn't want to touch me. I never get more than a slap in the face from him, and a few slaps isn't real abuse. Talking about that won't get me removed from their house, but it will get me in big trouble."

"What kind of trouble? What will happen?" Snape pressed.

Harry closed his eyes again and hugged his knees into his chest. Severus sighed, frustrated, but then he suddenly remembered something. "Does it have something to do with your fear of darkness?"

Harry gulped and his face paled. His hands started to tremble so he hugged his knees more tightly.

"So he locks you up somewhere dark? …In the cellar?"

"No," Harry whispered. "Just my room."

"But doesn't it have any windows?"

Harry shook his head again. "It's the cupboard under the stairs. No windows."

"You live in a _cupboard_?" Severus asked, shocked.

"It's not a big secret! My Hogwarts letter was addressed to me there!" Harry yelled, suddenly angry at how his secrets were being stripped away against his wishes.

"The student letters are addressed magically. I doubt anyone noticed the exact wording of your address," Severus explained rather apologetically. He could understand why Harry would be upset – getting a letter addressed in that fashion would certainly have suggested that the faculty were well aware of his treatment.

"Oh…" Harry said softly, dropping his eyes as his burst of anger left as abruptly as it had flared.

"All right. So you have been locked in this cupboard. May I ask for how long?" Severus returned to his questioning.

But Harry refused to answer. He just rested his head on his knees and ignored Snape.

"For an hour?" Snape guessed.

Silence from the huddled child.

"Longer than that? Several hours?"

Another stretch of silence.

Snape could feel his anger at the Dursleys rising. "Overnight? A whole day? Longer than that?"

After a long pause, Harry nodded once.

"Longer than two days?"

Harry nodded again.

"Three days?"

"Please, Sir. Don't ask me. Can't we just drop it?" Harry blurted.

"More than three days?" Severus went on inexorably.

Harry closed his eyes and shuddered. That was all the answer Snape needed.

"That's torture and abuse! It's just as illegal as beating you with a belt!" Severus ranted, and Harry flinched at the furious tone.

"So what else did they do?" Snape demanded, now too angry to attempt any sort of gentle questioning.

But again Harry just shook his head. "I won't say."

"Harry, you _need_ to tell."

"No. I can't. You can't help me in this. He'll find out and he'll convince you that I'm a liar. And then he'll send me to Her."

"Who is _Her_?" Snape demanded, his mind working busily.

Harry buried his face in his knees. He hoped if he couldn't see the professor that Snape might vanish. He had already said too much, and he knew he was going to be in deep trouble when Uncle Vernon found out.

"Harry, you have to understand that I can only help you if you'll talk to me. If I'm able to take you out of there, then there will be no punishment from your uncle ever again. His threats to punish you are just to stop you from telling anybody. But you have to tell in order to put an end to the abuse, otherwise it will never end. Believe me, I know when somebody lies to me or not, and I know you're not lying about this."

Harry sighed and slowly looked up again, his eyes full of pain. He nodded slowly.

Snape found himself touched anew by the small boy's courage and faith in him. "All right. So who is this person that your uncle threatens to send you? Not your aunt Petunia?"

Harry shook his head. "Uncle Vernon's sister, Aunt Marge. She hates me, and so does her dog."

"But why does your uncle threaten you with her?"

"Because she isn't afraid to touch me."

"What exactly does that mean?" Severus asked, not really sure he wanted to know the answer.

"She's really mean, and she pulls me around by the ears, and she smacks me really hard for practically nothing, and when she gets really mad, then she'll whip me with a stick from the garden."

"So she was the one who gave you those scars on your back?"

Harry colored. "That was my fault. I earned them."

Now Severus shook his head angrily. "No. You definitely _didn't_ earn such a punishment, no matter what you may have done."

Harry shook his head, disagreeing with Snape. "She thought I was going to hit her dog."

"And were you going to hit it?"

"No," Harry whispered. "But I picked up a stick and waved it at him. I wanted to get him to let go of my foot. His teeth hurt a lot."

Severus had difficulty suppressing his anger. _Harry picked up a stick to protect himself from a dog that was biting him, and he got a hiding for that? Just how unfair was this woman?_

Harry kept his eyes down and didn't see Severus' livid face as he continued, "When Aunt Marge saw me with the stick she started screaming. She grabbed the stick and yelled at me, saying how dare I try to hurt her dog. She didn't care that her dog had bitten me. I tried to convince her that I wasn't really going to hit him, but she didn't believe me. She grabbed me by my ear and dragged me over to the garden bench in the backyard and she pulled down my trousers…"

Harry stopped and hid his face. He felt so ashamed.

Severus was shocked. It was obvious that this woman didn't care anything about Harry. This wasn't a deserved punishment. It was sheer torture. She ignored the fact that her dog had bitten him and had whipped a defenseless child because she obviously enjoyed doing so.

No wonder Harry had problems following the school rules. In all probability, at his home it didn't matter if Harry followed the rules or not; his horrible relatives would punish him for anything or nothing.

"Harry," Severus started. The boy's face was still buried in his knees, but at the sound of his name he lifted his head a little bit to peer over his crossed arms. "I have to talk to Professor Dumbledore about this. We will determine what to do. It's possible that you will have to tell this story again. But I promise I will do whatever I can to take you away from there."

Harry shot him a worried look, but he finally asked, "What… what will happen to the Dursleys?"

"I don't know yet. We'll see."

"They won't be put in prison, will they? I… I wouldn't want that. I think they had enough problems because of me."

Severus stared, aghast, at Harry. "Enough problems? What are you talking about? Do you think it was _your_ fault that they treated you so badly? They _deserve _to be imprisoned."

"But it wasn't really their fault. They never wanted me, but they had no choice. I've got no other living relatives. They were the only ones and so they had to take me in. They aren't bad parents. They love Dudley. They just didn't want me."

And at those words, Harry could no longer hold back his emotions. He tried to hold his breath, but big tears rolled down his cheeks anyway. The boy looked so lost that Severus acted on impulse. He sat down on Harry's bed and pulled the boy into his arms.

"Harry, they made the decision to take you in. It was their choice to accept the responsibility for you, but then they ignored that responsibility. You've described the worst kind of torture to which an innocent child can be subjected. To treat their child with love while you were locked away in a dark cupboard was one of the cruelest things they could do."

Harry pressed his eyes shut and leaned deeper into the strong arms which were holding him. For a while both were silent, but finally Harry whispered, "I always thought if I were good enough, if I could just obey their rules, then they would love me too. I always dreamed about being hugged by Aunt Petunia after a nightmare or after I got beaten up at school. But she never did anything like that. She'd just scold me after a nightmare because I woke her up. She wasn't interested in what happened to me at school, and if I got hurt, I got locked into the cupboard. I didn't know what I should do so that she could love me like she loves Dudley."

Severus tightened his hold on Harry but remained silent. He couldn't bring himself to say that there was absolutely nothing Harry could ever do to make his aunt love him.

So he said instead: "We will find a solution, Harry. I promise."


	8. Norbert part one

Norbert-part1

Albus sat in his chair, waiting patiently for Severus to speak. His eyes followed his pacing colleague as the dark man moved from restlessly from the heavy desk to the window, pausing every now and then to look out at the grounds below.

The headmaster had never seen Severus so upset. It was uncommon for the Potions Master to enter Albus' office without saying a single word. Normally he stormed in and snarled out the facts, but not this time. All Albus could do was wait for a hint.

"Harry." Severus finally spoke up.

Albus' face grew serious. It was not only the fact that it involved Harry Potter that concerned him; it was the way Severus said the single word that was concerning. The headmaster watched his pacing colleague once more, but then he remembered what had previously angered the man.

"Did you find out something about the Dursleys?" Albus asked gently.

Severus just growled in disgust, but his emotions were clear to Albus.

"How serious is it?" the headmaster wanted to know.

Severus sighed and finally dropped down on the chair in front of Albus' desk. The headmaster's alarm grew. This lack of verbal answers was getting under his skin; Severus Snape was not a man who suffered in silence. Severus' body language was positively alarming.

Severus stroked his hand over his face and looked straight at Albus. "He cannot go back to his relatives."

Again Albus waited until Severus gathered his thoughts and explained what he had learned from Harry. Once Severus had finished, Albus rather wished his colleague hadn't told him anything, because the situation was more complicated than Severus or Harry could know.

It would have been easier if Vernon Dursley were the one beating Harry. The case would then be clear and the response unquestioned. The hearing would proceed quickly, and few questions would be raised. But verbal or emotional abuse would be a lot harder to prove, as would physical abuse by proxy. It would likely become a long drawn-out battle, which would be impossible to hide from the press.

And that was the problem. If the matter reached the public ear, then it would become problematic not only for Harry but also for Albus. The Ministry of Magic would get involved, and that was the last thing Albus wanted.

It had been hard enough to convince the Minister of Magic that it would be best for Harry to grow up with his Muggle relatives, but eventually Albus had been made responsible for Harry's welfare. If the Minister were to find out now what a huge mistake Albus had made, then his guardianship of Harry would come to an abrupt end.

The headmaster hid his face in his hands. It had never crossed his mind that the Dursleys might not provide the best home for Harry. He had thought it would be the safest place for Harry because of Lily's blood protection. Who would have thought that the danger was living under the same roof as Harry?

"What shall I do?" Albus asked sadly.

Severus was lost in thoughts of his own. He knew it was a lot easier to talk about taking Harry away from his relatives than to put it into action. At Albus' question Severus looked up again and found a very old and tired-looking man before him.

"We _must_ find a solution," Severus said flatly.

"What exactly did you promise Harry?" Albus asked.

"I promised him that I will do everything in my power to get him out of there."

Albus nodded pensively. "I will try my best to come up with a suitable solution."

Severus wasn't happy with the statement. Something sounded strange. But there wasn't anything he could do but trust the headmaster. And the headmaster _had _saved him from Azkaban.

While Albus was once again lost in thought, Severus stood up to leave. He was at the door when he heard Albus' voice.

"Wait!"

Severus turned around.

Albus stroked his beard and looked at his colleague, considering. Finally he looked deep into Severus' eyes and said, "I will talk to Minerva. It is clear that Harry has begun to confide in you. I'm confident you won't abuse your power if I give you guardianship of Harry during the school year. The boy should know that there is someone he can rely on."

Severus eyes widened, but he recovered quickly and finally nodded. "Thank you for your trust. I won't disappoint you."

As Severus left, he wondered why he was glad about the guardianship. Why he was glad to be responsible for the biggest troublemaker in the school. But he knew that deep down he welcomed the chance to show Harry what parents are supposed to do.

-ooo-

Harry looked abashed as Professor Snape entered the hospital wing. He no longer knew how to act in front of the man.

"I assume you are feeling better?" Severus asked in a neutral voice. He didn't want to confuse the boy any further.

"Yes, Sir," Harry answered, twisting the end of the blanket in his fingers.

"Did Professor Dumbledore inform you of his decision regarding us?" Severus asked, already knowing the answer.

Harry just nodded, gripping the blanket even harder. Severus waited as he noticed that the boy was struggling to find the right words.

"What exactly does it mean for me?" Harry finally asked.

"It means that you can come to me whenever you need to talk. But it also means that you should come to me first, before you get yourself and your friends in trouble. If you are concerned or confused about something you should come to me. I can't promise to answer every question – there are some things which, like it or not, you are too young to know – but I will be as frank as possible with you."

Harry nodded but remained silent.

"It also means that I'm responsible for you if you misbehave. And if necessary I will punish you."

"Will you… " the boy's voice trailed off, then he gulped and continued in a much lower voice "…beat me?"

"No!"

Harry blushed. "But you said…"

Severus frowned. "You will find out that there is a difference between a spanking, which smarts for a short time, and a brutal hiding like the ones you received at the hands of those brainless Muggles. And I will only spank you if you needlessly place yourself in life-threatening situations."

"Like in the Forbidden Forest?" Harry asked in a small voice.

"Yes, or the incident with the three-headed dog or the one with the troll. I'm sure even you can describe how you could have handled these situations better, if you had used your brain. As a consequence for your carelessness, I want you to write me an essay about these incidents and how you could have avoided mortal danger."

Harry looked down once more and nodded. He was still clutching the blanket and twisting it in his hands. It was obvious something was troubling the boy.

"What is it?" Severus asked as gently as possible.

The boy shut his eyes for a moment, but finally he asked: "Why were you so mean to Quirrell in the forest?"

Severus sighed. Harry shouldn't have seen him like that. He knew how terrifying he could be when he chose, and obviously he had frightened Harry even though his anger hadn't been directed at the boy.

"I cannot tell you. But I ask you to trust me and to not tell _anyone_ what you saw in the Forest, is that clear?"

Harry nodded, but then he looked at Professor Snape and asked, "Was it him?"

Severus raised an eyebrow.

"Who cursed my broom at the Quidditch match?" Harry elaborated.

The professor was surprised by Harry's deductive reasoning. "Why do you think that?" he asked.

Harry rubbed his forehead. "Because of my scar. I feel it tingle in Defence Against the Dark Arts more often now. It's confusing. I mean Quirrell is nice and all - I can't imagine that he would harm me. But it _is_ kind of… strange."

Severus nodded. "You are right, that there is something strange about the professor. I still don't know what it is, but I don't want you concerning yourself about that. I will find out what it is, and if you are in any danger I will let you know. Until then, do not worry about it. I _will_ ask you, however, to stay away from dark corridors and not to wander around alone. You are aware of the consequences if you disobey me."

Harry nodded.

"And do not try to find out yourself what may be wrong with Professor Quirrell. Your task is to learn and behave."

Harry nodded again, but as it grew silent in the room and Harry looked up, he found a stern-looking Snape glaring down at him, clearly awaiting a verbal response.

"Yes, Sir," the boy said quickly. "I promise, I won't."

After another long look which clearly said _you'd better, _Snape changed the subject.

"Madam Pomfrey said you are free to go, but you will need to pay her another visit at the end of term so that she can inoculate you against some wizard's illnesses."

"Inoculate me?" Harry asked shocked, remembering his last inoculation at his Muggle school. The doctor hadn't been very careful and Harry had gotten a bruise on his arm from the injection.

"Yes. I'm sure you wouldn't like to get Dragon pox or any other nasty illnesses."

"Dragon pox? Is it like Chicken pox? 'Cause I already had Chicken pox. I won't get -"

"No, Harry." Snape interrupted "Dragon pox is not the same as Chicken pox. There are similar symptoms, but your skin doesn't get just pockmarked. Dragon pox also may cause a lasting greenish tinge. Even if the color isn't that bad you will also get a green-and-purple rash between the toes and sparks will come out of your nostrils when you sneeze."*

Harry got green in the face just thinking about it. "Okay. So it's not the same," he gulped.

Snape grinned. Then he patted Harry's head once and turned to leave.

-xOx-

Images of sneezing sparks and green-faced monsters were fast forgotten as the stresses of school took over. Easter holiday was nearing and the teachers gave a lot of homework to prepare the students for the coming exams. Every day Hermione, Ron and Harry could be found sitting in the library and studying until their heads were spinning.

That's why the trio was there the day Hagrid entered the library. The half-giant seemed uncharacteristically bashful as he greeted the three Gryffindors then quickly vanished behind some shelves.

Harry frowned and stood up. It was unusual for Hagrid to be so stand-offish. He followed his big friend.

"Hi, Hagrid. What are you doing here? Can I help you?"

"Harry! ...Well… erm… no, not really. Better you go back to yer studying!"

It was obvious that Hagrid wanted to be alone. Feeling hurt, Harry lowered his chin and turned to head back to Hermione and Ron.

"Maybe… you and your friends might want to come and visit me later, provided you don't have other things to do?" Hagrid suggested, trying to cheer Harry up again.

And it worked. Harry's face lit up immediately and he answered, "Yes, of course we'll come!"

-xOx-

After dinner, the three Gryffindors scurried over Hogwarts' grounds to Hagrid's hut near the Forbidden Forest. As Hagrid opened the door, warmth engulfed them.

"Wow, Hagrid. It's as hot as an oven in here." Ron said as he quickly pulled off his cloak.

Hagrid scratched his beard but didn't respond.

For some time they talked about trivial school things, but finally Harry told Hagrid that they knew about the Sorcerer's Stone and asked if Hagrid knew about the other safety precautions besides Fluffy.

Hagrid grumbled uncomfortably. "Listen! You shouldn't know anything about the stone. Don't go talkin' about it."

Before Harry could try again to get more information, a strange sound rang out through the hut.

"What was that?" Hermione asked anxiously.

"Nothing. It's late. You better go back to the castle," Hagrid answered quickly. He stood up and walked to a cauldron over the fireplace.

Frowning, the children stood up.

"Hagrid, what's wrong?" Harry asked confused.

"Nothing. It's nothing," Hagrid tried to reassure the kids, but then something in the cauldron started to rattle.

Mystified, Ron and Harry stepped next to their big friend to get a look in the cauldron. Suddenly Ron's eyes grew large.

"Hagrid…" He gulped, clearly taken aback.

Hagrid pulled something out of the cauldron and held it up so everybody could see the gigantic egg in his hands.

"That's not what I think it is, is it?" Ron asked.

"Only another day or two now!" Hagrid said, bright-eyed. He turned the egg gently over to look at it more closely.

"But, Hagrid, _where_ did you get that?" Ron continued to ask.

"What is it?" Harry asked.

"A dragon's egg!" Ron explained, "But it's illegal to raise dragons or even have a dragon's egg in Britain!"

"I won it," Hagrid told them proudly. "In a card game last week in Hogsmeade."

"You aren't going to keep it, are you?" Hermione asked anxiously.

"Why not? Dragons aren't as bad as people say. They're harmless if you raise 'em properly."

"But at Hogwarts? It's a school! You can't raise a dragon on school grounds without endangering the students," Hermione protested.

"How big do they get?" Harry asked.

"Pretty big," Hagrid mumbled evasively, putting the egg back into the cauldron.

Harry followed the egg with his eyes. _A dragon? A dragon in this school? This will mean trouble for sure._ He couldn't imagine it would be allowed, not even for someone like Hagrid.

"Does Dumbledore know about your egg?" he asked.

Hagrid looked a bit nervous. "Well… erm… I thought I would wait until the dragon hatches. No need to mention it before then."

"But you _will_ tell him, won't you?"

Hagrid squirmed. "Erm… yes… I won't be able to hide a dragon… from the headmaster at least. But can I ask you to keep silent about it until I tell him?"

The children nodded.

*) _source: harry potter wiki_


	9. Norbert part two chances

**Norbert 2 - chances**

Harry's mind was occupied with Hagrid's dragon. He couldn't think of anything else. And it seemed Ron and Hermione were no better off. Instead of studying, they often discussed what would happen when the dragon was born. They were so lost in their speculations they never noticed their interested eavesdropper. Despite all their conversations, they were still unprepared when Hagrid's note arrived: "It's time."

After their classes, they ran down to Hagrid's hut just in time to see the baby dragon break through its shell. It was fascinating – so fascinating that nobody noticed the shadow at the window.

It wasn't until their discussion about the name of the dragon and Hagrid's decision to name the baby Norbert that they heard hurried footsteps moving away from the hut. Harry hurtled to the window and saw a blond running back to the castle.

"Malfoy!" he said, turning to his friends with a worried look. "Now he knows about the dragon."

"Bugger! He'll tell his father." Ron swore, then he looked at Hagrid, "We've got to think of how to get rid of the dragon."

"Get rid of Norbert? No!" Hagrid pulled the little dragon close to his chest, one large hand protectively over the tiny creature.

"Hagrid, you must. You'll get in serious trouble if you don't. Malfoy's father has a lot of influence at the ministry." Ron tried to explain.

"I know." Hagrid held Norbert up to his eyes and looked at the dragon, "Don't worry, Norbert. You're safe with me."

"I can write Charlie in Romania. Maybe he'd know what to do." Ron offered but Hagrid was only half-listening.

-ooo-

Harry, Ron and Hermione visited Hagrid and Norbert every day, marveling at how fast the once-tiny dragon grew.

It didn't take long for Professor Snape to notice that something was up. This excitement among the three children was impossible to miss. The Professor hoped that Harry would come to him soon. He made it clear to Harry that the boy was to come to him with issues after Harry's essay about _Avoiding mortal danger_, but he wasn't sure if Harry yet trusted him that much.

Matters came to a head one afternoon when Severus witnessed the Weasley-boy storming into the Entrance Hall, a letter clutching in his hand. He yelled at Potter and Granger, "Charlie wrote back. He has a solution. Let's see Hagrid!"

Instantly the three of them headed out of the castle. Snape stepped over to the next window and watched the children curiously. He frowned as he saw clouds of smoke curling out of Hagrid's hut. That had happened more frequently in the last few days, and now it seemed the children were somehow involved with the mysterious smoke, but in what way? Were they trying to cook something? Severus knew Hagrid's cooking skills weren't the best. But what else could cause so much smoke? Were the children in any danger?

Severus knew he needed to find out.

-xOx-

As Harry, Ron and Hermione caught sight of the billows of smoke, they ran a little faster, worried about their friend. But as they reached Hagrid's hut, the half-giant stepped out the door and dropped the bucket he had used to extinguish the fire.

"Hagrid, are you all right?" Harry gasped, out of breath from their sprint.

"Yes. Yes. Everythin's fine. Norbert just got a bit angry 'cause my stock of firewhisky is running out. I need to go to Hogsmeade to get some new. It's really great how fast he learned to spew fire. He's a natural." Hagrid's eyes gleamed with pride despite his half-charred hut.

"Charlie wrote," Ron handed his letter over at Hagrid.

Hagrid skimmed over the letter and said defiantly, "I don't want to give Norbert away!"

"Hagrid, you have to," Hermione tried to convince their stubborn friend. "Look at your hut. How long do you think it will hold up?"

"Charlie promised to look after him. Norbert will be in good hands," Ron promised.

Hagrid still wasn't convinced, "What if he doesn't like it there? What if he misses me?"

Ron rolled his eyes. It took a great deal more persuasion to get Hagrid to agree their plan, but finally Hagrid gave in. On an upcoming night, someone would come for Norbert to take him to Romania.

-o-

After dinner, Harry, Ron and Hermione _accidentally_ ran into Professor Snape.

"Where are you three going in such a hurry, if I may ask?" the professor asked, glaring from one to the other and finally fixing Harry with a piercing look. "You aren't plotting something?"

The nervous faces spoke volumes. Harry gulped, but before he could think of anything to say Hermione replied innocently, "No, professor. We just found something that could help us with our homework, and we were going see if it's really that helpful."

The girl smiled sweetly, but she couldn't fool the professor. Severus knew it was a lie. "_Something,_" he repeated skeptically under his breath and gave Harry a disappointed look.

Hermione and Ron continued to the owlery to send a letter to Charlie with Hagrid's agreement, but Harry's head was full of concerns.

How much did Snape know? How much trouble was he going to get into for not involving Snape? He knew the Professor was waiting for him. He knew he ought to tell Snape, but he couldn't. He had promised Hagrid to keep Norbert a secret. And it wouldn't be dangerous, after all. They were just going to put Norbert into a basket and carry him up to the Astronomy Tower. That's all. Nobody would be harmed.

-x-

The next day however, Harry was no longer so certain. Ron had been bitten by Norbert, and his hand swelled up rapidly and turned green. Hermione nagged Ron to go to Madam Pomfrey, but Ron refused because he didn't want to arouse suspicion.

Over the next two days Ron's hand got worse. He felt so ill, he couldn't eat anything without throwing it all up. Harry felt edgy with nerves. Snape seemed to be watching them all the time.

Finally even Ron agreed he was really sick, and he trudged off with his friends to the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey's eyes widened when she saw his hand, but she didn't ask much. She sent Ron to a nearby bed and shooed Harry and Hermione out.

In the corridor outside the infirmary, they were met by an angry-looking Professor Snape.

"Mr. Potter. Can I have a word with you in my office?"

"Professor Snape, it wasn't-" Hermione started but she fell silent at the look that was cast at her.

"Miss Granger, although I'm disappointed in both of you, it is Potter with whom I shall speak in private."

Hermione had no choice but to nod, but she looked worriedly after her friend.

"Come with me," Professor Snape said to Harry, walking away down the corridor.

With a sinking feeling in his stomach and heavy feet Harry followed him. He knew he was in trouble.

As they reached the office, Severus held the door open for Harry. With his head down, the boy entered.

"Sit down!" the Professor ordered while he was closing the door.

There was nothing special in these words, but Harry could hear how annoyed and disappointed Snape was. Harry looked up guiltily and watched Snape taking his own seat.

"Maybe you can tell me now what the three of you have been up to these last few days?" the professor asked.

Harry looked conflicted. "I…" he started but then he dropped his head again, "I can't, Sir."

Severus couldn't trust his ears "Why not?"

Harry winced but still didn't look up.

"Harry, please look at me and tell me what you are hiding from me. Or at least, why you believe you cannot tell me."

Harry finally looked up with teary eyes. "I promised not to tell anyone."

"Your friend is very ill."

"It was just an accident," Harry protested. _It wasn't like Norbert meant to hurt anyone…_

"An accident? Your friend has a very serious envenomation. How was that an accident?" Snape asked.

"How did you know?" Harry's jaw dropped.

"Harry. I'm not blind. I'm a potion master. Do you really believe I don't recognize the signs of a poisoning? There are two ways how this could have happened: either you and your friends were brewing a very dangerous potion that went wrong or your friend was bitten by something dangerous. But if that were the case I'm wondering where you have been."

Harry gulped. Snape's suspicions were very close to correct. If Harry didn't tell about Hagrid's dragon, the professor would doubtless think they had gone into the Forbidden Forest.

As Harry kept silent, Severus continued, "I've watched the three of you these last few days. Whenever your classes ended you hurried to Hagrid's hut, and the smoke coming from there was worrisome. What will I see if I decide to pay Hagrid a visit?"

Now the boy looked up with wide, frightened eyes. Harry realized that it wouldn't be hard for Snape to learn about the dragon with or without Harry's help. So why hadn't the professor done just that? Why had he waited for Harry to tell him? Was _that_ the reason why Snape was so disappointed?

Harry was tortured. On the one hand he desperately wanted to tell Snape; on the other hand, he couldn't bring himself to betray Hagrid. While Harry was still trying to decide what he should do, Professor Snape continued.

"You know that it is up to the teachers to help the students. Sometimes it also falls to us to help other teachers. But it is _not_ up to the students to solve a teacher's problems on their own."

"But Hagrid is my friend!" Harry pointed out.

"Well. Do you think you are his only friend?" Snape asked.

"Erm… I guess not," Harry said in a small voice.

"I have known Hagrid much longer than you. And you can believe me when I say this would not be the first time if he had gotten himself into trouble."

Harry finally nodded. "He has a dragon," Harry whispered.

"He has a _what_?" Severus couldn't believe his ears.

"A dragon," Harry repeated a bit louder. "His name is Norbert. It hatched a few days ago."

"A dragon," Severus repeated to himself. "How in Merlin's name did he get a dragon?"

"He said he won the egg in Hogsmeade in a card game."

"In a card game?" Severus still couldn't believe what he was hearing. _ This couldn't be a coincidence. Everybody at Hogwarts knows Hagrid is a miserable card player. How could Hagrid have won a game with such a desirable prize?_

"Sir?" Harry asked cautiously, as the professor silently stared into space. At Harry's voice, Snape focused back on him.

"What about the three of you? What role did you play in this?" he questioned sharply.

"Erm… Ron's brother works in Romania with dragons. We asked him what we should do with Norbert, and Charlie said Norbert can come to Romania to live on his dragon preserve."

Snape raised his eyebrows. "I cannot believe Hagrid agreed to give the dragon away."

"Well, it was hard work convincing him, but with Malfoy knowing about the dragon, we knew it couldn't stay a secret very long."

Snape was a bit taken aback. Draco had known about the dragon and didn't say a single word? "And how were you planning to get the dragon to Romania?"

"Well, erm..."Harry scratched the back of his head uncomfortably, "we're supposed to bring Norbert to the Astronomy Tower at night and-"

"No!"

"But, sir, Norbert will be in a basket, he won't-"

"No!" Severus said in tones of finality.

"But we have to do it at night. At day there would be too many witnesses," Harry protested.

"Harry. Rules. Do you know this word?"

"Yes, but-"

"I will not have three children carrying a dangerous dragon through the castle in the middle of the night. Do you have any idea how heavy even a baby dragon is? What if you lose hold on the basket and it gets out? Then we would have a dragon running wild inside the castle."

"Hermione knows a levitating charm. We won't have to carry the dragon."

"I said no!"

"But we have to help Hagrid" Harry whined.

"You have already helped him a great deal. Now it's time to let the adults handle this while you three are good children and stay in bed. When is the delivery planned?"

"We don't know yet. We're waiting for Charlie's letter to arrive and tell us the date."

"Very well. When this letter arrives, you will come and tell me immediately."

"But how will you get Norbert to the Astronomy Tower?"

"That is nothing you should concern yourself with any longer."

Harry sighed. Then he nodded and hung his head again. Again silence grew between the two, but then Severus cleared his throat.

"I can understand why you hesitated to come straight to me regarding the dragon. But that is exactly what you should have done. When you are making plans and you realize that you will have to break rules, then you should come to me and ask me for advice. If it isn't a total nonsense we will find a way together. You are not alone any longer. I know you just want to protect your friends, but you cannot protect your friends if you put yourself in danger. And you should know that I'm trying to protect you as well."

"I'm sorry," Harry whispered.

"I hope that someday you will see that not all adults are like the Dursleys."

Harry and Severus looked at each other for a while.

"I know you are not like the Dursleys, but…" Harry bit his lower lip. He didn't know exactly what to say.

"I know you have had little reason to trust adults, and it will take some time to get used to. But please promise me that you will give us a chance. You are very important to me."

A small smile spread over Harry's face. "Thank you, Sir. I promise to give it a chance."

Severus nodded. "You can come to me whenever you need to. My door will be open. And now, off with you."

Harry let a small laugh escape. Tears were already stinging his eyes. "Thanks," Harry whispered again, then he fled from the room. At least this time he didn't cry like a baby in front of his professor.


	10. Norbert part three bye bye

**Norbert part 3 - bye bye**

"Snape knows?" Hermione asked, surprised.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snitch," Harry said guiltily.

"No. No. It's okay. I mean, honest, I'm glad somebody knows, but what did Professor Snape say?"

"He said that we have to inform him as soon as we get know about the date of transferring and he also said it's up to the teachers to help Hagrid and we should stay in bed."

"You know, I'm really relieved that the adults will do the job. I'm scared of Norbert. Nobody knows what he can do. I mean look at Hagrid's hut. Or at Ron's hand. Norbert isn't a sweet little pet."

"Yeah, I know, but what are we going to tell Ron? He won't like the idea that Snape is helping us."

"Ron will be in the infirmary for a while. He doesn't have to know now," Hermione suggested.

"Okay. We will tell him afterwards," Harry agreed.

-xox-

Charlie's letter arrived the next day. The transfer was to take place on Saturday at midnight. Ron felt sorry he couldn't go with Harry and Hermione.

"Will you two be able to get Norbert to the tower?" he asked, worried.

Hermione assured him there would be no problem.

"You'll have to tell me every detail, okay?"

"Yes, of course!" Harry said, and Hermione wondered how Harry could sound that convincing.

-oxo-

After his potions class, Harry stayed back to talk with Professor Snape.

"Sir?" Harry pulled Charlie's letter out of his bag.

"What is it, Potter?" Snape asked a little grumpily.

"The transfer. It's on for this coming Saturday at midni-" Harry blurted out.

"Shhhhhhhhhhh!" An angry hiss silenced the boy.

"But Sir, you told me-" Harry was confused.

"I know perfectly well what I told you. But this is neither the time nor the place to talk about it. Go to your next class."

Harry stared at him, mouth agape. Then he hung his head and sadly said, "Yes, Sir!" _Was it impossible to him to please this man?_

"See me in my office after your classes are done for the day. We can talk there."

"Yes, Sir!" Harry said again and hurried to his next class.

-x-

"Mr Malfoy, come out. I know you are here," Snape snapped and a red-faced Draco Malfoy came out from his hiding place behind the open classroom door.

"The same goes for you as for Potter. I don't want to see a single strand of your hair out of your dormitory on Saturday night. I know you love dragons, but _this_ is none of your business. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, Sir!" the blonde boy said with a disappointed look.

-xox-

"Harry? What are you going to do with _that_?" Hermoine asked as Harry came down to the common room with his invisibility cloak under his arm.

"Don't worry, Hermione. I'm just going to watch so I can tell Ron every detail."

"But what about Professor Snape? If he catches you, he'll kill you!" the girl gasped, concerned.

"That's not going to happen. I have my cloak. He can't see me as long as I stay underneath."

"Harry, I don't think this is a good idea…"

"Hermione, it was _our_ idea, _our_ plan. I don't want to sit here doing nothing! At least I want to be able to watch."

"Why? Don't you think Professor Snape will be true to his word?"

"It's not that. I just really want to watch. Aren't you curious, too?"

Hermione bit her under lip. "Well, a little bit," she finally admitted. "But what if they catch us?"

Harry rolled his eyes. "They won't! We'll be _invisible_."

-oxo-

Half an hour before midnight, Harry and Hermione tiptoed through the corridors under Harry's invisibility cloak. An astonishing number of professors were on patrol, and the two children had to be very careful not to bump into someone.

"We should turn back," Hermione whispered worriedly after a near-collision with Professor McGonagall.

"Going back is as dangerous as going ahead", Harry argued, and so they went on.

Finally they reached the castle doors and slid outside into the cold, clear night air.

There was a strong wind, and they struggled not to lose their grip at the cloak. Out of harm's way, they watched Professors Snape and Quirrell taking a large basket from Hagrid.

"Bye bye, Norbert. Be careful, Mummy won't forget you!" Hagrid sobbed like a child. But Norbert didn't respond as he was sound asleep in his basket.

"Get a grip, Hagrid. You know better than to try and keep a dragon," Professor Snape grumbled.

"The children… they aren't in any trouble because of me, are they?" Hagrid asked, worried.

"Not yet. Luckily I learned about the plan in time. But it was very stupid of you to involve the children, without telling anybody else."

"Well, it wasn't my idea at first. But somehow the three got involved."

Professor Snape shook his head and rolled his eyes. _As if Hagrid really tried hard to hide the dragon from the children. _

"Still, it was very irresponsible of you. The exams are close and the children don't need any distractions," he scolded.

Hagrid looked guiltily but then he patted the basket once more. "I'll miss you, Norbert!"

Professor Quirrell didn't talk much. He looked very pale in the moonlight.

-oxo-

"What's Quirrell doing there?" Harry asked confused.

"He _is_ our DADA Professor," Hermione answered logically. "It's natural that he'd help Professor Snape deal with a dark creature like a dragon."

"But Snape hates Quirrell!" Harry pointed out.

"Obviously Professor Snape knows it was important to set his personal feelings aside to complete the dangerous job."

"No, you don't understand. _Quirrell_ is a danger."

"What are you talking about, Harry?" Hermione looked at Harry in puzzlement.

"_He_ let the troll inside the castle, and it was _him_ who hexed my broom" Harry told her angrily.

"Who told you that? Professor Snape?" Hermione was skeptical. She still suspected Snape as the one who had jinxed the broom, and it made sense that he would try to put the blame on someone else.

"Yes, and I believe him. I trust him, but I don't trust Quirrell. There is something wrong with him."

"Harry, just because he stutters doesn't mean-"

"It's not because of that," Harry cut in. "It's because of my scar. It tingles whenever he turns his back on me."

Hermione grew silent for a while but then she asked, "Why didn't you mention anything about that before?"

"Shh," Harry hissed, looking frantically in the direction of Hagrid's hut. "Damn, where are they?"

"Shh!" Now it was Hermione's turn to hiss. "Listen!"

Harry and Hermione pricked up their ears and could hear the sound of gravel underfoot.

"They're invisible!" Hermione whispered nearly soundlessly.

"What are we going to do?" Harry whispered back.

"We'll wait until they pass us; otherwise we could collide with them. Then we can take a short cut to the Astronomy Tower. The basket is too big for that route, so we'll be up there first and can hide in the corner."

Harry nodded his agreement.

-x-

It was strange to wait for someone you cannot see. But eventually they saw the door to the Entrance Hall open and close again. Harry and Hermione sprinted back inside the castle and up the numerous staircases to the Astronomy Tower. As they reached their destination everything was silent.

It was close to midnight, but all was still. No one could be seen or heard.

Harry got nervous. What if Snape and Quirrell didn't reach the tower in time? But then his worries evaporated as he heard Quirrell's stutter.

"N… n… nobody… is he… he… here!"

"It's time to lift the camouflage charm, otherwise how will they see us?" Snape sneered.

"R… r… right!" Quirrell gulped, and almost immediately Quirrell, Snape and the basket were visible again.

"Do you th… th… think they will c… c… come?"

"Why do you ask? Are you afraid of a baby dragon, after your experience with the full grown mountain trolls? Aren't you the teacher of Defense Against the Dark Arts?" Snape taunted.

"But the t… t… troll was unconscious!"

"And the dragon is sleeping. What's the difference?"

Harry thought it was weird to listen to this conversation. It was obvious that Professor Snape enjoyed Professor Quirrell's fear.

"He is so mean!" Hermione whispered, shocked, but Harry kind of enjoyed it. He was sure Snape had a purpose behind all his snide comments. Did he suspect Quirrell was somehow involved with Hagrid's obtaining the dragon?

Harry decided to ask Hagrid more about the stranger who gave him the dragon's egg.

Two minutes past midnight a rushing noise drowned out the noise of the wind. Grinning, Charlie's friends landed their brooms next to the professors. The transfer went smoothly, and shortly thereafter Norbert was sailing away in his improvised sling.

"Bye, Norbert," Harry whispered. He wondered why he felt a little bit sad.

After the professors vanished, Hermione said. "We'd better head back, too."

"Yes!" Harry agreed with her and carefully they stepped down the spiral staircase.

-x-

At the bottom of the stairs, they bumped into someone. It wasn't a professor, but Neville, who promptly fell down and screamed in panic.

"Shhhh, Neville, be quiet! It's just us," Harry ordered as loudly as he dared.

Frantically, Neville looked around "Harry? Is that you?"

Harry pulled the invisibility cloak down so that Neville could see him and Hermione. "Yes! Now be quiet!"

"How did you do that?" Neville asked, still shocked.

"Later. Now come here," Harry gestured for Neville to join them under the cloak.

But Neville didn't get up "Malfoy said you have a dragon?"

"We did. Norbert was picked up a few minutes ago. We just said goodbye," Harry told him.

"But-" Neville started again.

"Later! Come here before someone sees us!" Harry said impatiently.

But it was too late. The minute Neville stood up, Professor McGonagall rounded the corner and fixed all three students with a furious gaze.

"After all that, you _still_ disobeyed!" she said, and her voice dripped with anger and disappointment.

"Follow me!" she said and spun away without another word.

With their heads hanging low, the children followed. Harry noticed with a sinking feeling that they were not heading to McGonagall's office but to Snape's. As they reached the office, they saw that Professor Dumbledore, Professor Snape and Draco Malfoy were waiting there.

Harry felt awful. He had promised Snape that he would stay in bed, and now here he was standing, his disobedience obvious to all. He felt Snape's eyes boring into his head, but he could not bring himself to look up.

And then Professor McGonagall started to lecture them. With every sentence Harry shrank more and more, fighting hard not to cry. Finally she ran out of more words and took fifty points from each of the students, regardless of the fact that it drastically dropped Gryffindor in the running for the house cup.

"Fifty?" Hermione repeated in disbelief. "Each?"

"Yes, Miss Granger. And the four of you will have detentions. You'll receive an owl in the coming days with the time when it will take place. And if all of you don't go straight to your beds right now, it will be even more!" Professor McGonagall glared at her students, and they turned to leave.

"The same goes for you, Mr Malfoy! We will talk tomorrow after breakfast," Professor Snape said awfully, and soon the three Professors were alone.

"I must say I'm astonished at your actions, my dear Minerva," Albus said mildly as soon as the door closed behind the students.

"Why?" Minerva asked, still breathing hard because of her anger.

"You just ceded your position in the battle of the house cup to Slytherin" Albus told her, eyes twinkling. In return, he received a look that should have killed him on the spot.

"The house cup? Is the house cup more important than the security of our students? What if something had happened and the dragon got loose? All of the children would have been in great danger!"

"Well, the risk wasn't that great. The dragon was asleep and his basket magically locked," Severus informed her.

"And that justifies the children being out of bed and lurking through the halls under an invisibility cloak?" Minerva ranted.

Albus smiled softly. "Of course not. But it _was_ the children's plan after all. I'm certain they just wanted to be sure everything went as planned. Children don't like it when adults handle their tasks."

"Ohhhh… I'm sorry - I didn't think of that! No wonder the little darlings were wandering around, violating curfew," Minerva mocked. "Shall I give the points back?"

"No!" Severus said in a tone of finality. "Albus, Mr Potter and his friends were warned, as was Mr Malfoy. They knew perfectly well that they would be breaking not only the school rules but also their promises to stay in bed."

"Whatever you say," Albus said, still smiling, "I will not interfere. I'm glad the dragon is on his way to his new home. Now everything can go back to normal!"

-oxo-

The next day was very hard for the three Gryffindors, as everyone immediately noticed their loss of house points. It didn't take long before rumors started flying about how it was possible to lose so many points in a single night.

Hermione hung her head and Neville whimpered as the angry looks of the rest of their House raked over them. Harry wished the earth would open up and swallow him. He felt so ashamed.

But there was no time to sink into the ground because Harry got a note that Professor Snape wanted to see him.

-x-

"I'm curious to hear your explanation, Harry," Professor Snape began ominously. "I thought I was clear when I told you to stay in bed during the transfer."

Harry sighed. "I'm sorry."

"I don't want to hear _that_. I want to hear _why_!"

Harry studied his fingers nervously. But then he felt a hand under his chin, lifting his head until he had eye contact with his professor.

"Why did you disobey me?" Severus asked in an unusually calm voice.

"I couldn't just go to bed. I had to see Norbert handed over to Charlie's friends. I had to be sure that everything went fine." Harry finally admitted, embarrassed at having to reveal his lack of faith in Snape.

"So you still don't trust me" Severus concluded, releasing Harry's chin.

Immediately Harry hung his head again. His eyes started to sting. But then he frowned to himself and looked up. "It's not that," he protested, "I _do_ trust you, but…" Harry was at a loss for words. He didn't know why he had felt such a strong desire to watch the transfer, especially after defending Snape when Hermione raised that very question. "I- I don't know," he finally said, frustrated.

Severus studied Harry for a while. The boy looked back at him, still searching for words. Finally Severus broke eye contact as he pulled something out of the drawer of his desk.

"I want to give you something," he said and opened a small black box.

Harry watched as Professor Snape took out something that looked like a stone with a string. The professor handled the stone very carefully, closed his hand around it and squeezed it for a second before he held it out to Harry.

"What is it?" Harry asked as he automatically looked at the stone.

The stone shimmered in a beautiful green. It wasn't a Slytherin green; it was more like the color of Harry's eyes.

"This emerald was a present from your mother to me," Severus said in a low voice.

Harry now stared openmouthed at the stone. "From my mother?" he whispered.

"Yes. She gave it to me as a reminder of her. But it's more than that. This stone isn't a normal stone. If you are in danger and you grip the stone and think hard about the person who gave it to you, then the person will receive an alarm and immediately know that you are in danger. In our case it allows _you_ to send _me_ a warning if you are ever in any danger."

Harry tore his eyes away of the stone and looked at Snape. "You want to give it to _me_?"

"Yes. I want to give it to you _and_ I want you to _use_ it! If you don't trust me enough to prevent you from getting yourself into any dangerous situations, then I at least want to know as fast as possible when you need help."

"But… what if _you_ need it?"

"Do you think your mother will come and help me, if I put myself in any danger?" Snape snapped.

Harry remained silent.

"I can't use this stone any longer, but I can give it to you."

Harry didn't know what to say. He looked again at the stone and felt an uncontrollable urge to touch it. Slowly he stretched out his hand and closed his fingers around it. The emerald felt surprisingly warm.

"What if I call you accidently?" Harry wondered while he still held the stone in his hand.

"This will not happen. The stone knows somehow if you are truly in danger or not. So you can touch the stone whenever you wish."

Slowly Harry opened his hand again. Severus stood up and went behind the boy. He tied the string around Harry's neck, placing the stone right over Harry's heart.

Harry looked down, still not believing that he received such a special present. He touched the stone once more while Severus took his seat again.

"What if the string breaks? It looks so thin."

"It won't break. It's dragon leather."

"Then it won't break even if a curse hits it?" Harry remembered Severus' words.

"Exactly. Nice to know, that you are listening sometimes," Snape smirked.

"I always listen," Harry protested, indignant.

"Perhaps, but what about obeying?"

"I promise I'll be better," Harry said, eager to let Severus know that he would try his best to behave.

"I'm sure you will try your best." Severus said. The corners of his mouth twitched and he nearly smiled. "Now, don't you have any essays to attend?"

Harry sighed and hung his head, "Yes," he whispered and stood up and went to the door. But he hesitated before opening it. He didn't want to leave Snape's office. He was safe here from all the disappointed and annoyed faces. As soon as he opened the door waves of shame would again wash over him. It hurt him to know that he had let so many people down at once.

Severus noticed Harry's indecision.

"Even heroes suffer injuries and setbacks, Harry. You cannot always do what people expect you to do. Gryffindor may have lost its chance for the house cup but that's not the most important thing. Now it's time to concentrate on the coming exams, and you and your friends can try to win back as many points as possible. If you help others who may have troubles with one or the other subject, I'm sure soon your class mates will eventually forget what happened."

Harry turned around to look at Severus. "Thank you for everything, Professor. For the stone and for not hating me because I disobeyed you. I promise I'll try harder from now on. I just hope you're right about my classmates."

"I will _never_ hate you. You should know that by now," Severus pointed out.

A small smile spread over Harry's face. "I know and I'm very grateful for that."

Severus stood up and went to Harry. For a moment Harry looked up at the professor in astonishment, and then he felt his head pressed against Severus' torso. Harry's arms automatically closed around the professor and they stayed that way for a while.

Harry listened to his professor's heartbeat and marveled at how good it felt to be held like that. If it was up to him they could have stayed in this position forever, but finally Severus loosened his hold on Harry, and the boy stepped back.

Once more Harry felt Severus' fingers under his chin lifting up his head.

"Be careful," the professor said in a warm tone.

"I will," Harry whispered and smiled.


	11. The dead unicorn

The dead unicorn.

The upcoming examinations and the concomitant panic about them were a godsend for Harry, Hermione and Neville. Nobody had time to dwell on the lost points. Harry took Snape's advice to heart and helped the others as much as he could. Hermione did the same, and the other Gryffindors soon got over their anger.

Ron accepted the outcome with Norbert philosophically, but he pointed out that it was no wonder that Harry got into trouble since Snape had been involved. He turned a deaf ear to the fact that it had actually been Professor Mc Gonagall who took the points away, and eventually Harry gave up in correcting his friend.

-xox-

One morning Harry jolted awake after a nightmare. He was drenched in sweat, and his scar throbbed painfully. His dream had been awful, and Harry wasn't sure what to think about it. Everything in the dream had felt unusually real, and it had been terrifying. He didn't dare to close his eyes again. He was sure as soon as he did, the horrible pictures would return.

Even at breakfast he was still upset and couldn't eat anything. Hermione and Ron were worried.

"What's wrong?" Ron asked after Harry pushed his plate away and wrapped his arms around himself, shivering.

But Harry couldn't talk about his dream. He still had no idea what it meant and why his scar had burned so badly after waking up. He shook his head and scrubbed at his scar. It still tingled a little bit.

"You should go and see Madam Pomfrey. You look pale," Hermione suggested, rather bossily.

"No," Harry snapped. "I just didn't sleep very well, okay?"

Before Ron or Hermione could reply, three owls landed on the breakfast table. One in front of Hermione, one in front of Neville and one in front of Harry. Harry took the letter from his owl and opened it. It was about the detention and informed them that it would take place that evening.

-oxo-

Snape looked angrily up from his work at the sound of a soft knock at his office door.

"In," he grumbled, but then he raised an eyebrow in surprise when Harry stepped inside.

"Harry. What brings _you_ down to my office on a Sunday afternoon?"

"Can I…" he started but trailed off. He looked down and shifted his weight from one foot to the other. Then he shyly looked up again. "Today I had… I… can I… talk with you?"

Severus didn't understand much of this babble, but it was clear Harry wanted to talk about something and so he pointed to the chair in front of his desk and said, "Sit."

"Thanks," Harry whispered and sat down. But he still had no idea where to start. He studied his fingers and searched for words.

Severus waited for a while, studying Harry's facial expression. It seems the boy was troubled about something. As Harry stayed silent, he asked, "Is it the detention?" Draco had already visited him to complain about it.

"No." Harry shook his head. "It's not that. I had… it's… well, it's ridiculous… maybe… I should go. I'm sorry I -" Harry stood up again.

"Wait!" Severus stopped the boy, "If whatever is in your mind brought you down to my office, then it's important enough to talk about. What's the problem?"

Harry sighed and sat back. Playing with his fingers, he said, "I had a strange dream, well, it was more a nightmare. As I woke up my scar burned terribly."

Still not looking up, Harry waited for Snape to snap that he should not be so childish. But the question that followed took Harry by surprise.

"What exactly happened in your dream?" This question, asked in a calm and stern voice, made it clear that Snape would not laugh about Harry's problems.

Harry looked up to be sure no hidden sneer was in his professor's eyes.

"I dreamed I was in the Forbidden Forest. I was floating over the ground somehow. I'm not sure how, but I definitely didn't walk. There was this light. I was gliding towards it. It wasn't just a light it was a creature sending light. It looked like a horse with a horn. Are there unicorns in the forest?"

"Yes, there are," Severus said and wondered why Harry was hugging himself as if he was freezing cold. The boy was getting very pale.

"Harry, what's wrong?" Severus asked, worried.

"It was so beautiful," Harry whispered, nearly soundlessly, staring at a point on Severus' desk.

"Well, they are indeed. But they are also very shy and it's not easy to find one," Severus said to bridge the growing silence.

Harry gulped and tightened his arms around his torso. This act got on Severus' nerves. _What the hell was wrong?_ The boy looked like he would sick up any minute. But what Harry said next still caught him off guard.

"I… killed one," the boy whispered, sheer horror written across his face.

"But it was just a dream, wasn't it?" Severus asked to hide his helplessness.

Slowly Harry shook his head. "I'm not sure," he whispered. Two fearful eyes met Severus'. "It felt so real. I killed it and felt joy at doing so. At the same time I was trying desperately to wake up, but I couldn't. I was full of feelings I never had before, but somehow they seemed to be mine; this anger and then this pleasure in killing someone. Does… does it mean I'm… going to be a… bad wizard?"

Severus was shocked by the story, but he didn't show it. He was glad that Harry seemed to be more concerned about being a dark wizard than about the act of killing a unicorn, because on this point he could reassure the boy.

"I don't think that your dream meant that. You said you tried to wake up, so you knew it was wrong. Maybe the point loss still gnaws at your conscience. Nearly all young wizards concern themselves with the question of becoming a Dark wizard at one time or another, and especially during hard times. But I promise you, you will _not_ turn into a dark wizard. Not as long as _I_ have a say in it."

Harry let a small laugh escape, then he closed his eyes and took in a deep breath, releasing it with a sigh.

"So you think nothing is wrong with me?"

"Correct. Rest assured, you will not become a dark wizard," Severus repeated. But in his mind he was still shocked by Harry's dream. Something was very strange about it, but in a way the boy would never guess.

Color came back to Harry's face and he dried his sweaty palms on his trousers.

Although the dream was unsettling, Severus was glad Harry had approached him with it, and he felt the need to let the boy know that.

"Harry, I really appreciate your coming to me with this problem. If you feel the desire to talk more about your dream you are welcome to visit me again, but I know you have an _appointment_ in a few minutes."

"Yes, thank you, sir." Harry said, turning red at the reminder of his upcoming detention.

Severus nodded once and Harry hurried from the room. The boy never saw the worried look on Severus' face.

-x-

"Severus, my boy!" Albus greeted his colleague with twinkling eyes.

Before Albus could offer a seat, Severus asked: "What exactly is the detention of the children about?"

"Didn't I inform you? Hagrid has a problem and asked for help."

"What kind of problem?" Severus asked impatiently.

"He said he found some blood from a unicorn in the forest. He wants to find it."

"A unicorn?" Severus repeated, shocked anew. He had really hoped Harry's dream would turn out to be just a nightmare. But now his hopes were shattered.

"Yes, it's very unfortunate. It is hard to believe that someone would harm them."

Severus paced the room and finally stopped by the window. It was getting dark already. Just a small sliver of red was visible at the horizon. While Severus looked down to the forest, Albus became aware of the concern on his face.

"What's wrong?" Albus asked.

"It's too dangerous for Harry to be out there. How the hell can you approve a detention in the Forbidden Forest? Since when are we penalizing rule breaking with another violation of the rules? The Forbidden Forest is forbidden, because it's too dangerous for the children!"

Severus turned around and looked at Albus. The headmaster noticed that there was more behind the outburst than just the anger about the detention.

"Did something happen that I should know about?"

"Harry just visited me. He told me about a dream in which he killed a unicorn. He was pretty troubled about that. He told me he felt emotions he never had before. How, Albus, how is it possible? Even _if_ he is out there anywhere, how can he influence the boy in that way?"

"You mean Voldemort?" Albus asked now in a serious tone.

"Yes. Harry told me his scar hurt after that dream. Why would it do so, if it was just a normal nightmare? He also told me once that his scar sometimes tingles in Professor Quirrell's class. That's not a coincidence."

"You believe Quintus is cahoots with Voldemort? But he isn't a death eater. He has no mark."

"And because of that he has to be harmless?" Severus snapped "He may not have a mark, but he is acting strange; you can't tell me you haven't noticed."

"I don't deny that he is a bit odd, but we shouldn't jump to conclusions. Wouldn't it be possible that Harry's scar hurts in Quintus' class because it is about Dark Arts?"

"What about the dream? Why is Harry dreaming about unicorns? And why is he dreaming about killing one and the next day Hagrid tells you that he had found the blood of a unicorn?"

Dumbledore looked thoughtful. He stepped to the window next to Severus and looked out. If Voldemort really walk abroad in the Forbidden Forest, then it was indeed too dangerous for Harry to go into the Forest. But Hagrid was already on his way by now. It was too late to stop him.

As he turned his head towards Severus he noticed a strange expression on his colleague's face. "Severus? Everything alright?"

"I'm not sure. I thought I felt Harry."

"You _felt_ Harry?" the headmaster asked, bewildered.

"I gave Harry the emerald Lily had given me," Severus explained.

"Oh? Is Harry in any danger already?" Albus asked, a bit worried.

"No. Not yet," Severus answered, again looking out of the window, lost in thought. Severus was angry at himself. He should have trusted his instincts and refused to allow Harry to go to his detention. He should have brought the boy straight to the headmaster.

It was unthinkable for an eleven year old boy to receive visions from a wizard so weak that he had to drink the blood of a unicorn. It was unthinkable that a bodyless creature could break into the mind of a healthy and strong little boy. Severus still had problems believing his deduction, although it was obvious.

Finally he asked, "Do you consider it possible that Harry's dream was a vision from the Dark Lord?"

Albus was quiet for a while. He stroked his beard while thinking. "Well, if Harry isn't a Natural in divination, then it's the only logical explanation, although it is astonishing."

"Astonishing? I would say alarming!" Severus said angrily, and with these words he stepped to the door, leaving Albus thinking by the window.

In long strides he walked through the corridors. He had to find Hagrid and the kids. If the Dark Lord was powerful enough to intrude into Harry's mind then he was strong enough to harm Harry.

-x-

It took him some time before he saw a small light through the trees and heard Hagrid's deep voice.

"Hagrid!" Severus called out, and the big man turned in astonishment.

"Professor Snape. What a surprise! Are you joining us?"

"Where is Potter?" he asked, ignoring Hagrid's question.

"He is with Mr Malfoy and Fang; somewhere in this direction I would guess," Hagrid said, pointing.

Severus couldn't trust his ears. "You don't know exactly? You let the children run through the forest on their own? Have you taken leave of your senses?" he ranted.

"I gave them proper instructions!" Hagrid explained, hurt.

"And what if anything happen? How fast can you get to them?" Severus demanded. "Neither Potter nor Malfoy are-" Severus stopped midsentence as he heard Harry's voice in his head.

'_Snape__!'_ was the only word he heard, but it sounded as if Harry was not just panicked but also in pain.

"Harry's in trouble," he hissed, angrily casting a glare at the half giant.

Neville moaned and Hermione chewed on her under lip. Hagrid wanted to ask how Severus knew that, but the Professor held his hand up, pulling out his wand.

He placed the wand on his hand and cast a _point me_ spell. The wand started to twist wildly but finally stopped pointing in one direction.

"This way!" Severus said and hastened through the forest, leaving the main path. Hagrid, Hermione and Neville followed him nervously. After some minutes they heard Fang bark and a boy scream in panic. But it wasn't Harry, it was Draco running to them with an ashen face and eyes full of horror.

"Professor Snape!" the boy yelled, relieved at the sight of his head of house. "There is… there is... a monster!"

"Where is Potter?" Severus asked immediately.

Draco was offended that Snape's first words weren't directed at _his _welfare.

"I don't know," Draco grumbled, still out of breath from his run. "We found the unicorn dead, and Potter froze, and as this _thing_ came through the trees to drink at the unicorn Harry started to scream. I guess it was in pain, but I'm not sure. Fang fled and I just ran after him. I thought Potter would come with us."

Severus blood nearly froze in his veins. So Harry was in the worst kind of danger.

"How long did you run until you got to us?" Severus demanded.

"I don't know," Draco shrugged.

Severus took both of Draco'a arms and shook the boy.

"Try to remember! What way did you come? Can you bring me back to where you left Potter?"

Now alarmed, Draco shook his head. "Please Sir, I really don't know," he said desperately. "I just ran after Fang. I didn't pay attention to where we were going."

Severus swore under his breath. He released Draco and pulled out his wand one more time.

Hagrid watched, perplexed and pale. "I… I didn't know the children would get attacked," he stammered.

Furious, Severus turned to him. "Why should you? These are all just harmless pets running around, right? You imagined the hurt unicorn would want to be found so you can heal it. But did it ever occur to you that whatever hurt the unicorn may be a danger to the children, too?"

Hagrid was silent for a while. "But Professor Dumbldore-" he started before he got interrupted.

"Professor Dumbledore is just an old and credulous fool. _You_ are the gamekeeper and _you_ should have used your brain. It was foolish enough to let the children into the forest, but to let them out of your sight was incredibly stupid."

Hermione gaped, shocked at the vitriol in the potion master's words. Neville cowered fearfully behind the girl, while Draco found a certain gratification in Hagrid's reprimand from his head of house.

Just as Professor Snape was ready to continue his search, the group heard the sound of heavy hooves and breaking branches heading in their direction.

Draco screamed again in panic. Snape grabbed the boy and shoved him protectively behind him.

"That's just Firenze!" Hagrid said, as the centaur came into sight.

"And Harry!" Hermione yelled and started to make a beeline for the two. Severus shot his hand out in time to catch Hermione's arm and prevent her from colliding with the big centaur.

"Hey!" she complained but was silenced by a death glare from Professor Snape. Their little dispute was cut short as Firenze tried to turn around to look at Harry.

"You are safe now, Mister Potter!" he said but Harry didn't move. His face was hidden, and his fingers were firmly curled around strands of Firenze's mane.

"Harry!" Hermione called at the motionless figure on Firenze's back, but the boy still didn't react.

Severus noticed the white knuckled grip. The boy still held on to the centaur as if his life depended on it.

"Potter, are you okay?" Snape asked, unable to hide his worry any longer.

At the sound of his professor's voice, Harry loosed his grip on Firenze's mane and slowly looked up.

"Professor!" Harry whispered, relieved and astonished at the same time. Carefully he sat up. His forehead around the scar was an angry red.

"The unicorn, Sir. It is really dead. The unicorn I killed last night was real!" Harry said, looking distraught.

"First of all, get down here," Severus said in a calm voice and took the boy under his armpits to pull him down from the centaur.

Feeling the ground under his feet, Harry tried to stand but his knees were still weak and refused to hold Harry's weight. The boy clutched at Severus' arms.

"But I didn't really kill it," he went on with an unfocused look "It was him… not me… I don't understand. How... and why? It's so… cruel." Harry closed his eyes, taking in a shuddering breath.

"Harry. Please calm down. It's important to get you out of the forest. We can talk in my office."

The boy nodded. Still dazed, he stumbled through the forest back to the castle, following the others.


	12. The Virus of Doubt

The Virus Of Doubt

Harry didn't know exactly how he got there. He didn't even know where exactly he was. His mind was so foggy. He just knew that this black sofa on which he was seated belonged neither to Snape's office nor to the infirmary. Now he sat there, his knees pulled close as he stared at the opposite wall, a wall full of books.

Professor Snape had vanished from his sight, but returned immediately with a steaming goblet in his hand. He held it out to Harry, but the boy didn't notice at first.

"Drink that!" Severus said finally.

Harry blinked a few times until he focused at the goblet. "What is it?"

"Hot chocolate with calming draught," Severus explained.

"Calming draught?" Harry frowned "Do I really need that?"

"It will make you feel better."

Doubtfully Harry looked at his Professor. _How will I ever feel better?_ he wondered. But finally he loosened his grip on his pulled up legs with one hand and took the goblet. He sniffed at it and then took a small sip. It tasted delicious. Welcoming warmth ran down his throat and when it reached Harry's stomach, the warm sensation spread out through Harry's whole body.

Finally Harry's loosened his grip on his legs completely and let them slide down the sofa. Now holding the goblet with both of his hands Harry looked back at Professor Snape. "Thanks," he whispered.

Severus nodded, unsure what to say next. How could he tell the boy the truth? How could he explain to the boy that he had just gotten a glimpse of a bodiless wizard?

Harry stared again at the bookshelves opposite him, trying to clear his mind.

"I don't understand," he whispered after some time. "I don't understand why I saw the murder of the unicorn. Why I had all this feelings. I nearly believed that they were mine; that it was me who killed it. Did Voldemort take possession of my body while I was sleeping? And when he did, how was that possible? And am I cursed now with a half life? I think Firenze said something like that."

"First of all, Harry, _you_ did _not_ kill the unicorn. Also, you were not possessed by the Dark Lord; you somehow saw through his eyes."

Harry frowned. "Is that a normal thing for wizards? I mean, seeing through someone else's eyes?"

"It's not a common thing, but a spell makes it possible," Severus hedged.

"So did _I_ activate that spell unconsciously?" Harry wanted to know.

"I don't think so. But I'm sure it _happened_ unconsciously because I can't imagine that the Dark Lord wanted a witness."

Harry nodded as he took in the information and then fell silent for a while. After some thinking he asked again. "Is there a way to protect myself from that spell, whatever it is?"

"Looking into someone else's mind is called Legilimency. It's advanced magic. There are not many wizards who can perform that magical art."

"Is it a Dark Art?" Harry asked, worried.

Severus looked very serious. "Well, that depends on how you use it. If you break into someone's mind without permission, then it's wrong and could be considered Dark. But sometimes it can be useful. For example, if you can't remember a specific event, a legilimens can sometimes help you."

"So Voldemort-"

"Please, Harry! Don't call him by his name!" Severus hissed. It was hard enough to hear Dumbledore calling the Dark Lord by his name; he nearly couldn't stand it when Harry said it. The boy was so young and didn't know what it meant when he said the name, the name so full of horrid memories.

Harry frowned but accepted Professor Snape's request.

"Okay, so You-Know-Who, he broke into my mind? But I thought he died after he tried to kill me all those years ago. I mean, okay, I saw something down in the forest, but it was… like a ghost. He was… well, I don't know, but he was definitely not human. Do you think, he was really able to perform a spell?"

"As I said already: I don't think it was anybody's intention. It happened. I haven't heard about anything like this before, but it's the only possible explanation. You had a vision from the Dark Lord. But I really can't imagine how it was possible."

Harry wasn't happy with this answer. He looked down into the goblet. His hands rotated the mug with the rest of his cocoa absentmindedly.

"You asked me if there is a way to protect yourself from this spell." Severus broke the growing silence.

Harry's head shot up again. Hopefully he looked at his professor.

"Well, it's also very hard to learn, but you can protect yourself from Legilimency with Occlumency. That is the art of closing your mind and shielding it from intruders," Severus explained.

"Can I learn it?" the boy wanted to know.

"I think it's best if we wait. If it happens again, then I think you will have to learn it, but for now we should wait. You are just at the beginning of your education."

Harry nodded and went silent once more, staring at the contents of the goblet in his hand. Severus watched Harry. The boy was so small and yet he looked so old, so plagued with problems, like an adult.

Finally Harry sighed. "Do you think this happened because of my scar?"

Severus jerked out of his musings. He considered carefully what he should tell the boy, but he couldn't see why he should not stick to the truth. "Well… I really don't know. I suspect nobody will know for sure. Your scar is something unique as nobody else survived the killing curse. It is quite possible that it is a kind of link to the Dark Lord. But if this is the case, I'm not sure if Occlumency will help."

Harry closed his eyes. Professor Snape just told him what he already feared: that there would be no way to block Voldemort out.

"I wish I could remove it," he whispered and felt for the roughness on his forehead which formed his scar.

"I can imagine," Severus agreed.

After that there was a long silence. Harry finished his now cold chocolate and handed the goblet back to Professor Snape, who just swished with his wand and the goblet vanished.

"Professor?" Harry suddenly asked again.

"Yes?"

"Volde – I mean, _You-Know-Who_ – he's after the stone, isn't he?"

"You think so?" Severus returned the question.

"Well, yes. I mean… I think he has help from inside of Hogwarts. If the stone can make him live forever, he won't have a problem with the half-life-curse he got from killing the unicorn. The half of never-ending is still very long." Harry scratched the back of his head.

Severus was a bit amused to see this boy thinking like a Slytherin.

"I suspect you are right in both of your assumptions."

"Do you know who is helping _You-Know-Who_?" Harry wanted to know.

"I have my own assumptions," Severus said cryptically.

"What are we going to do, to prevent him from stealing the stone?"

Now Severus grew very stern. "We? There is no '_we'_ in this case. Don't concern yourself with it. The stone is not your business."

"But it is!" Harry argued. Forgetting Snape's request he went on. "If Voldemort gets the stone, than it will be my business. He'll be after me!"

At first Severus glared at the boy but then he reconsidered Harry's words and he had to admit to himself that Harry had a point. It was strange. Again Severus acknowledged to himself that Harry was speaking like an adult.

Irritated, Severus rubbed the bridge of his nose, thinking hard about what to say next. Then he fixed Harry with his gaze.

"Harry, listen! You have to believe me, that stone is absolutely safe. Nobody will be able to steal it."

"How can you be so sure?" Harry countered.

"The headmaster, the other professors, and I are on guard, along with Hagrid's three-headed pet whom you have already met."

Harry shuddered at the memory of Fluffy.

"Harry, you have to promise me not to go after the stone on your own."

The boy looked tortured and didn't answer.

"I promise we can talk about the stone and your concerns as often as you wish. If you learn something, or want to know something you may come to my office. Is that okay with you?" Severus asked.

"You mean it?" Harry asked, uncertain.

"Yes. I want to know if you are concerned about something. You are not alone any longer," Severus assured him.

"Okay, I promise. I promise not to look for the stone on my own."

"And you promise to come to my office if you think the stone won't be safe any longer?"

"Yes, I promise." Harry agreed and then a shy smile flitted over his face.

-oxo-

It was late as Harry went back to the common room, and even later when Harry, Ron and Hermione went to bed.

When Harry had walked into his common room, his friends were waiting for him. Hermione filled Ron in on the events in the forest and the three of them talked about what to do, now that they knew that it was Voldemort who wanted the stone and what would happen if he got it. Hermione tried to reassure Harry that as long Dumbledore was there, nobody would try to harm Harry.

It was nearly midnight; Ron was already sleeping, leaning heavily against Harry's shoulder snoring slightly, as Hermione mentioned to Harry her concerns about something else. "Harry?"

"Hmm…?" Harry was staring at the fire and didn't bother to look at his friend.

"You know, Professor Snape was acting strange today. He looked like he was really worried about you. You should have seen him as he tried to find you."

The corners of his mouth twitched slightly upwards, but Harry still did not look at the girl.

"Well, I was surprised. After this incident you didn't notice anybody, except Snape," Hermione went on.

Harry's smile faded again. He turned around and looked bemused. "What do you mean?"

"You just reacted to _his_ calling your name. I called you before but you didn't move."

"I can't really remember any of it," Harry admitted.

"Well, it was strange. Neither you nor Professor Snape seemed to be bothered by the presence of each other, not like in lessons. You even looked relieved to see Professor Snape. I don't get it. So… what's going on between the two of you?" Hermione demanded.

Harry scratched the back of his head and his cheeks turned red. "Nothing is going on."

"Oh, come on, Harry. It's _me_ you are talking to. Why is Professor Snape pretending that he hates you and then is worried to death about your welfare? And why are you always defending Professor Snape? He insults you in the middle of his class but you are just smiling to yourself, never getting angry. And after every incident he calls you to his office. Why? What is happening there? You know, he is not our head of house."

"What do you think is happening?" Harry asked, curious and worried at the same time. He didn't know why, but he had gotten used to the idea that nobody knew, about Snape's guardianship of him, and he wanted to keep it a secret.

Hermione took two deep breaths, "Harry, please be honest. Professor Snape is not hurting you in any way, is he?"

"No!" Harry replied surprised at the question.

"Well…" suddenly Hermione looked uneasy, "and he is not doing anything he should not do, is he?"

Harry eyes grew larger. "No! We are just talking, Hermione. Just talking!"

"I'm sorry. But I had to ask. I was so shocked in the forest and then I was surprised to see the two of you so close. You looked at Snape like he was just the person you wanted to see. And the two of you shared some information only you two knew, something about a dream."

Harry looked down at his fingers. "You didn't consider the option that Snape was just worried about me, because he wanted to protect me, because he may be my guardian?" he asked in a low voice.

"He's your guardian?" Now it was Hermione who looked shocked. "But… how? Why? I don't understand?"

"Snape isn't that bad. Like you said before, he's just pretending. He never told me why his reputation was that important to be kept up, but I accepted it. He's been nice to me since my first detention. He taught me the Lumos charm and he asked me to tell him whatever bothers me. In one of my detentions after the incident with Fluffy we talked about my home life at the Dursleys and well… he promised me to help me out of there, because they are really mean to me. And so he ended up as my guardian. And that's why I also told him about the dream last night. I dreamed about the unicorn, which means I got a vision of the unicorn killed by Voldemort."

Hermione's mouth fell, "You dreamed of You-Know-Who? And you still walked into the forest? You should have gone to the headmaster!"

"I didn't know it was Voldemort," Harry answered, "I dreamed I was killing the unicorn. I freaked out a bit and thought it meant I would become a dark wizard, so I talked to Snape. He assured me that my dream didn't mean that. After the incident in the forest, I learned that I got a vision, a vision from Voldemort."

"So you are talking to Professor Snape about private things?" Hermione asked.

"He is okay, really!" Harry tried to convince his friend.

"I hope for your sake that you're right. But please be careful. Professor Snape is a Slytherin. And Slytherins are talented in pretending. Let's hope Snape isn't just pretending to be your friend."

"Why are you saying that?" Harry asked, offended.

"Because I'm worried about you. I saw Professor Snape at the Quidditch Match, and I saw how he treats you in class, but I don't know anything about this side of Snape _you_ are talking about."

"But Professor Dumbledore would not give guardianship to Snape, if he thought Snape would hurt me," Harry said.

"You didn't hear Professor Snape as he yelled at Hagrid. He called the headmaster an old fool. What if he got guardianship of you by pretending to have your best interests at heart?"

Harry looked hurt. "I can't believe you're saying that. You said he was worried about my welfare, didn't you? And now, you accuse him of just pretending everything?"

"Oh, Harry. I'm sorry. Please don't be mad at me. I'm just trying to get it all straight in my mind."

"You want the whole picture? I'll give it to you: Professor Snape really cares about me. In public he pretends he hates me, because he is living up to his reputation. I don't know exactly why, but I don't mind either. In private he is a total different man. At the Quidditch match he saved my life, as he tried to break the curse that got my broom bucking. We both believe Professor Quirrel may have something to do with it. My scar sometime hurts in DADA class, and it also burned painfully when I had this vision. So I believe he is the one helping Voldemort to get the stone. Snape asked me not to interfere. And that is all you need to know. Happy now?" Harry asked impatiently.

Hermione hung her head. "Harry, I'm sorry. But I was just concerned."

"It's okay. Guess a brilliant mind as yours can't stand not knowing what's going on."

Now the girl looked up again, half-smiling. "I'm not _that_ brilliant. Sorry about my suggestions."

"It's okay. I'm not angry anymore. I'm lucky you are no blabbermouth, in the end the whole school would believe that Snape and I are in love." Harry chuckled.

Hermione cast Harry a serious look. "I would never gossip about somebody, even if you _did_ fall in love with someone."

Now Harry smiled. "I know. You are a good friend. As is Ron, but I still ask you, not to tell Ron about Snape being my guardian."

"I won't. It's up to you to tell him that, whenever you think he should know," Hermione promised then she stifled a yawn. "Guess I will go to bed. Goodnight, Harry!"

"G'night," Harry yawned too and then he pulled the sleeping form of Ron to his feet.

"Wa? S' time to stand up?" Ron slurred drowsily.

"No, it's time to get you into bed!" Harry said, dragging his friend up the stairs.

"Why don'we jus' fly?" Ron babbled incoherently.

"Our brooms are in our dorm. So we have to get them," Harry said, amused by his friend's half-awake state.

"Oh, good. 'Cause I don' wanna walk all the way up there. Why is it so dark anyway?"

"Because it's night."

"Yeah, 'night. Wanna sleep!"

"Here you go!" Harry said and helped Ron into his bed. "Goodnight, Ron!"

"'Night!" Ron mumbled and was out again.

Harry shook his head. Then got himself ready for bed and was out the minute his head hit his pillow.

-oxo-

By the time the exams started nobody wasted a thought about the stone or Fluffy or about Voldemort. Just Harry was reminded every now and then that there was something going on, as his scar tingled more often.

Harry clung to the fact that nobody knew how to get past Fluffy and therefore hoped everything would be fine. He thought about going to Professor Snape, but he knew already what his guardian would say. _Believe me, the stone is absolutely safe. Nobody will be able to steal it_.

Harry didn't know why Snape was so sure about that, but for now he just trusted him in this regard.

But at the end of the exams, Harry started worrying again. What was Voldemort doing? Harry got the feeling he had missed something.

"Harry, what's wrong? You barely touched your lunch. Is your scar hurting?" Hermione asked, concerned, as Harry rubbed unconsciously at his scar.

Harry just grimaced.

"Maybe you should see Madam Pomfrey?" the girl suggested.

"And what? Do you think she can help me with _that_?" Harry asked, pointing at his scar. "I doubt that. No, I think it's a kind of warning. I'm concerned about the safety of the stone."

"Why don't we pay Fluffy a visit? Just to hear if everything is alright?" Ron asked.

"No. Professor Snape would catch us. He is patrolling that corridor," Harry said.

"What Snape? Have you seen him today? He wasn't at the breakfast and he is not at lunch either. Maybe he has a free day," Ron told his friend.

Surprised, Harry looked up at the teachers' table. Ron was right; Snape was missing, as was Dumbledore. "Dumbledore is missing too?" Harry said, worried.

"Guess it's time for your invisibility cloak!" Ron said with a mischievous grin.

Harry chewed at his lower lip. He had promised Snape not to go near Fluffy again. But Snape wasn't here and he would be invisible and it would really soothe his nerves to know that Fluffy was alright.

"Okay!" Harry agreed.

-oxo-

Everything was all right at the forbidden corridor. Fluffy was snoring happily. So they left again and removed the invisibility cloak as soon as they were back.

"Well, there was nothing unusual," Ron commented.

"Yes. It seems so," Harry answered while he cast a still concerned look back over his shoulder.

"Hagrid won't tell anybody about how to get past Fluffy, and besides, you told us there are more things than Fluffy guarding the stone, didn't you?" Hermione recalled.

"Yes," he said flatly. He couldn't put his finger on it, but he had a very bad feeling that he had missed something. But what?

Thinking hard, Harry followed Ron and Hermione outside the castle, heading to the big tree by the lake. But he suddenly stopped in his tracks.

"What's the matter?" Ron asked, surprised.

"The dragon," Harry whispered.

"What about the dragon?" Hermione wanted to know.

Harry's head started spinning in excitement. Why hadn't he realized it before? Hagrid's biggest wish was a dragon and then suddenly he won a dragon's egg in a card game?

"Come with me!" Harry said and turned to head to Hagrid's hut. Harry was half-running and his friends had trouble keeping up.

"Harry. Wait. Where are we going?" Hermione panted, but Harry didn't slow down.

-oxo-

Hagrid was working outside of his hut as he saw the three students heading in his direction.

"Heya!" Hagrid greeted the trio, "How were the exams?"

"All right," Harry answered, changing the subject immediately. "Hagrid, do you remember anything about the man who gave you the dragon's egg?"

"He didn't just give it to me. I won it," Hagrid said, still proud of this fact. But then all of a sudden Hagrid sniffled. "I miss him. I miss Norbert."

"Yes, well… we all do," Harry agreed but then changed back to his original subject. "So… do you remember what the man looked like?"

Hagrid shook his head. "No. He wore a hooded cloak."

"Maybe his voice was familiar?" Harry went on.

"No. Not at all."

Harry sighed, frustrated. But then he asked again. "Did this man ask about something?"

"Yes, he asked about Hogwarts and wanted to know what I'm doing there."

"Did he ask about Fluffy?"

"Of course. Everybody is interested in Fluffy. You see, he wanted to know if I can handle a dragon, so I told him about Fluffy."

Ron und Hermione looked at each other as they finally understood what Harry was trying to find out.

Not seeing the meaningful looks, Hagrid continued, "I told him the most important thing to know about an animal is how to calm them down. Fluffy for example: just play a little music and he sleeps like a baby…"

Hermione gasped and now Hagrid realized to whom he was talking. "Oh, erm… well… look… Wait! Where are you going?"

But Harry, Ron and Hermione were already on their way back to the castle.

-xox-

"I have to talk to Snape!" Harry panted.

"Snape? Why Snape? Isn't he the one stealing it? ... Oh, you mean, when he is in his office, then he is not stealing the stone already. But what if he is?" Ron asked.

Harry rolled his eyes angrily but kept silent. Now wasn't the time to explain things to his friend. Harry hurried to Snape's office and knocked urgently.

Nothing happened.

Harry pressed his ear against the door and tried to make out any sound coming from inside, but there was none. Everything was perfectly silent.

Frustrated, Harry turned to his friends. Hermione looked pale and Ron unsure.

"What about Dumbledore?" Hermione asked finally.

Harry nodded and sprinted back to the entrance hall to take the route to Dumbledore's office, with Ron and Hermione at his heels. Their footsteps echoed through the empty corridors, as everybody else was outside enjoying the sun.

Everybody, that is, except Professor McGonagall. She was about to round a corner as the three kids bumped into her and she nearly lost her balance. With a stern glare, she opened her mouth, but before she could say anything, Hermione explained: "We're sorry, Professor, but it's an emergency. We need to talk to Professor Dumbledore."

Professor McGonagall told them that the headmaster wasn't available at this moment, and demanded to know what kind of emergency there was. So the trio told her about the stone and their worries. The Gryffindor head of house wasn't very happy that the kids knew about the Philosopher's Stone, but she reassured them that the stone was perfectly safe.

-xox-

"What are we going to do?" Hermione asked worried, as they reentered the common room of their tower.

Harry sighed unhappily. How was it possible that neither Professor Dumbledore nor Professor Snape was available? Where were they? Where was Snape?

Harry felt betrayed. Snape made him promise to come to him whenever he got worried about the stone and then Snape just vanished when Harry needed him most? Harry was hurt, and he fought back the tears that were already burning in his eyes.

Maybe Hermione was right? What if Snape were really just pretending to be there for Harry? Maybe all these orders to stay away were not for Harry's safety but to keep the way clear of curious little teenagers?

Harry didn't really want to believe that. He had started to trust Professor Snape. Snape had done so much for him, could he really just have been pretending? But where was he now?

Suddenly pictures of Professor Snape threatening Professor Quirrell shot into the boy's head. Harry remembered how frightening Snape looked as he cornered Quirrell in the Forbidden Forest. And Snape never had explained to Harry why he was so mean; he just asked Harry to trust him.

Snape had done everything to make Harry believe that it was Professor Quirrell who was after the stone. Harry believed him, because his scar tingled in Quirrell's classes. But he couldn't remember Professor Quirrell being mean or unfriendly to anyone.

And on top of it all Professor Quirrell wasn't absent. He was at breakfast and at lunch. What did that mean? Harry wished desperately to talk with Snape. It annoyed him to no end that Snape wasn't there right now.

Unconsciously he fingered the emerald Professor Snape gave him. He closed his fist around it and tried to fight back his doubt. He tried to convince himself that Snape never could have been just pretending to be interested in Harry's well being. Why else would he give Harry such a present?

But the doubt was like a virus spreading rapidly through Harry's system. What if the stone wasn't a present from his mum? What if it was a kind of tracking device, to make sure Harry wasn't where he didn't belong?

Agonized, Harry squeezed his eyes shut. He shouldn't have trusted Snape that much. Then it wouldn't hurt so much.

"Harry?!" Hermione called.

Dizzy, Harry blinked sometimes to focus back on his friends. Somehow he had totally forgotten about them. "What?"

"Well, Ron and I wondered if we should look for the stone on our own."

Harry bit his underlip. He had promised not to do that. Should he really disobey even when Snape was betraying him? "I don't know!" he answered in despair.

_Snape, where are you?_ He called out in his mind. He missed the calming and reassuring voice of his professor, who always knew what to do. _How come he isn't here when I need him most?_

"Let's wait till dinner. Maybe Professor Snape or Professor Dumbledore will be back."

"What if they're not? Will we go then?" Ron asked.

Harry bit hard on his lip but nodded.

-oxo-

Harry's deepest hope to see Snape at dinner was shattered as the two missing professors were still absent. To make things worse, Professor Quirrell was now missing, too.

"Damn!" Harry swore angrily, realizing that whoever was behind the search for the stone, Snape or Quirrell, would be stealing it right now.

Ron, Hermione and Harry looked at each other and knew what they had to do.


	13. Through the Trapdoor

Through the trapdoor.

Harry was still conscience-stricken as he followed Ron and Hermione out to the Entrance Hall. Should he really do this?

"Mr. Potter, a word, please!" called Professor McGonagall as soon as they left the Great Hall. With hurried footsteps she caught up with her students. Uncertain, Harry looked up. Did she know what he and his friends were planning to do?

"Professor Snape asked me-"

"He's here?" Harry cut her off with rising hope.

McGonagall looked displeased at the rude interruption but went on, "No, he is not. But he contacted me right before dinner and asked me to check that everything was all right with you."

Harry sighed in frustration. "Where is he?" he demanded and was shocked to realize that he sounded like a whining baby.

McGonagall arched her eyebrow suspiciously, but then she took Harry by his shoulders and led him a few feet away from Ron and Hermione.

"Professor Snape and Professor Dumbledore are visiting your relatives," she said in a low voice.

Harry stared at McGonagall, utterly shocked. "They're… Why?"

"As far as I know, they're there to discuss your summer arrangements," McGonagall explained.

"Summer arrangements?" Harry repeated in a whisper. _What summer arrangements? Didn't Snape promise me, I wouldn't have to go back there? So what was there left to arrange?_ Harry was confused. _Snape is talking with the Dursleys. This can mean just one thing: I have to go back. Vernon is going to kill me for causing two professors to visit him. _Harry groaned inwardly.

"Everything all right?" McGonagall asked, concerned at Harry's horrified face.

"Yeah. Everything's perfect," Harry muttered bitterly, then turned around to head back to his waiting friends.

"What did she say? What about Snape?" Ron asked.

"Don't ask. Let's go!" Harry covered his hurt feelings about Snape's betrayal with a newfound determination to go right where he promised, he wouldn't go. If Snape could break his promises then Harry could as well.

While they headed to the Gryffindor Tower to get Harry's invisibility cloak, Hermione asked in a whisper "Are you all right?"

"No. I'm not. But I don't want to talk about it right now," Harry answered in a low voice, so that just Hermione could hear him.

-xox-

"Do you really want to do this?" Hermione asked Harry, her wand pointing at the door before her.

Harry nodded. "Whoever is behind trying to steal the stone, it's up to us to prevent it from getting into the wrong hands. And since the teachers don't believe us, we just have to do it on our own, don't we?"

"I'm with you," Ron said and nodded towards the door, signaling Hermione to go on.

Harry took out his flute and also nodded to Hermione in agreement.

"Alohomora!" the girl whispered.

-xoXox-

"Oh, thank Merlin, there you are!" Minerva said relieved as Albus and Severus finally entered the Entrance Hall. She had called the headmaster via her patronus as soon as she noticed the empty beds in her house.

"How long have the children been missing?" Albus wanted to know.

"I don't know exactly. I saw them after dinner." Minerva turned to Severus, "Harry seemed to be concerned about your absence so I told him where you were, but somehow he looked more troubled by the news."

Snape closed his eyes and shook his head. No wonder Harry had vanished. But he had really hoped the boy would trust him more.

While the teachers headed to the forbidden corridor, and McGonagall continued, "I kept watch at the third corridor. But then I suddenly heard Fluffy howl angrily and as I opened the door, I saw the open trapdoor. I'm not sure but I suspect the children went through somehow. Mr. Potter and his friends told me earlier this day that they believe that the stone would get stolen. I of course assured them that the stone is well protected, but obviously they didn't believe me."

"Well then, let's see how far they got," Albus said enthusiastically.

"Albus!" Severus and Minerva were both shocked by this statement.

"What? Isn't it interesting that the children found out a way to pass Fluffy?"

"Interesting? No wonder you were so unsurprised to learn that Harry and his friends could extract information out of that idiot half giant," Severus ranted.

"They are very clever," Dumbledore agreed happily.

"If they're that smart, why didn't they trust us when we explained to them that the stone would be safe?" Minerva asked.

"Children's curiosity and the wish for adventure," Albus answered easily. "As a child I was worse. I never trusted adults in anything until I saw it with my own eyes."

"Just because you were even more of a fool in your younger years doesn't excuse other children from punishment for thinking they can run wild. I never understood why you are so tolerant towards your students even when they got themselves in danger. It's our responsibility to show the children how far they can go and when they cross the line. What's the meaning of rules without consequences?"

"Ah, Severus. I have my heads of houses for good reasons," Albus said with twinkling eyes.

Severus grumbled to himself. Even Minerva shook her head in disapproval.

"You make our job impossible when you give children such things as invisibility cloaks," Severus muttered under his breath, but Albus just chuckled.

_Albus is an incorrigible fool_, Severus thought to himself. _How can he stay that calm, when Harry and his friends could be in mortal danger?_ Severus knew Albus cared about Harry, so why was he so damned unconcerned?

But Severus was also angry at himself. He had felt that Harry was bothered by something. He should have come back immediately and not sent Minerva. That had been a bad mistake. Harry was unused to trusting or relying on adults, thanks to those damn muggles. And the small amount of trust Severus had gained from Harry wasn't enough to keep the boy out of danger.

Severus wondered if he could have stopped the boy if he had been there.

As the professors reached Fluffy's room, the dog was furiously barking and lunging with his three heads.

"Isn't that Quirinus' harp over there?" Mc Gonagall asked.

"It is," Severus confirmed. "So I was right about that!"

Severus pointed his wand at the harp, and it started to play. It took the enraged Fluffy some time to cool down, but finally it fell asleep.

"Right about what?" Minerva wanted to know.

"That our likeable, stuttering professor is trying to steal the stone on behalf of the Dark Lord."

"We don't know that yet," Albus said.

"Oh, come on! How much more proof do you need?" Severus asked angrily. "First the troll, then the incident at the quidditch match, let alone Potter's burning scar. He may not have been a Death Eater, but he is somehow in contact with the Dark Lord. All this stuttering, that's just an act, I bet."

"Albus, is that true? You two suspected Quirinus before?"

"We still have no evidence," Albus emphasized.

Severus just hissed in disbelief.

-oxo-

Severus and Minerva were relieved that the children didn't end up in the Devil's Snare, nor did the door with the flying keys stop the children. But Severus noticed some drops of blood and after an analysis charm he said, worried, "It's Harry's blood. The boy is hurt."

The three adults exchanged worried looks. Even Dumbledore's eyes were no longer twinkling. Minerva spotted the old key with broken wings near the door, unable to fly anymore. She picked it up and the three went on.

The next room held the human sized chessboard. There they finally found two children.

"Ron! Ron? Can you hear me? Please wake up!" Hermione cried desperately. She didn't notice the approaching professors until she heard their voices calling her name. She started violently and looked up. Relief washed over her face at the sight of the teachers, and she stood up and ran into Professor McGonagall's open arms.

She tried to explain everything, but her words came thick and fast and between all the sobs it was impossible to understand anything.

Severus took the girl by both shoulders, asking slowly but clearly: "Where is Potter?"

Hermione gulped and then took some breaths to pull herself together, before answering clearly: "He went on… with the potion… through the flames. He… he drank it and told me to go back and get help." More tears ran down the girl's face. "I'm sorry, Professor!" she sobbed.

Minerva pulled the girl into another hug.

"Mr. Weasley is unconscious. His left arm may be broken but he is generally all right. All he needs is a full day's rest in Madam Pomfreys care," Albus stated.

Minerva stayed behind with the children, while Severus and Albus went on.

-oxo-

As soon as Albus and Severus stepped through the flames a terrible scene met their eyes. There were horrible screams, but it was hard to say if they came from Professor Quirrell or from Harry. Professor Quirrell's face and hands were boiled, red and blistered. Harry on the other side had a death grip on his professor, determined not let Quirrell go.

Even as the two fell to the ground, Harry didn't lose his grip. The screams seemed to come from both, but there was a third voice screaming too. Finally a dark mist left Quirrell's body and everything went silent except the angry growl coming from the misty shadow.

Before Albus or Severus could react, the shadow glided towards them and vanished in the flames. Severus felt a painful stab in his left forearm as the shadow glided right through his body. The sudden pain was nearly unbearable, and Severus went to his knees. It was the same pain he had felt when he had got his Dark Mark.

"Severus, are you all right?" Albus asked, concerned.

"Don't worry about me. Check the boy!" Severus growled angrily.

When Albus turned Harry on his back to check the boy's vitals, something rolled out of the boy's pocket. Severus stood up and went towards it. As he picked it up, he recognized the Philosoper's Stone. As soon as he touched the stone, the pain in his forearm vanished.

"What is it?" Albus asked. He noticed Severus' movements out of the corner of his eye.

Severus held the stone up, and Albus arched an eyebrow. Then they both looked back at the boy. "How is he?" Severus wanted to know.

"He is magically drained. I believe he will sleep for some time, but except for some scratches he is fine."

"And what about Quirrell?"

Albus ran a diagnostic spell and then shook his head. "There is nothing we can do for him."

Severus had never liked Professor Quirrell but to learn that he was dead was still a shock. "It could have been easily the same for Harry. I'm sure the stone saved his life."

Albus just shook his head.

"Do you have any ideas what happened?" Severus wanted to know.

"I'm not sure. But I suspect Harry noticed that Professor Quirrell could not touch him without being burned, and that's why Harry kept his strong hold on the man. But I'm sure that so long as Voldemort possessed Quirinus, Harry must have felt that pain in his scar. That's why both of them were screaming."

"But why would a touch cause the Dark Lord so much pain?"

"Because of the love that ran through Harry's body: Lily's love."

"How could Harry bear so much pain?" Severus muttered more to himself.

"Perhaps that's the only good thing that came from Harry's stay at his relatives." Albus said in a regret-filled voice.

Severus' anger flared up again at the mention of the Dursleys. He had argued over and over with Albus against this stupid plan to place Harry back there, even if for only two weeks.

"Let's get out of here," he grumbled and scooped Harry into his arms. Albus nodded and the three of them left the room.

-oxOxo-

When Harry finally woke up, several days later, he didn't know where he was or what had happened. He felt weak and drained and he had a bad headache, but he couldn't fall back to sleep. So he rubbed his eyes and slowly tried to sit up. His hand automatically felt for his glasses on the nightstand.

As he found them and put them in his nose the infirmary became clear. Harry groaned. _Why am I in the infirmary?_ he asked himself, trying hard to remember what had happened. And then his memory came back.

The stone. Professor Quirrell. Voldemort… his hands. Appalled, he looked down at his hands. They looked normal now, but how had it been possible to hurt Quirrell so much just by touching him. Quirrell's skin had burnt right under his touch. How? Why? Was he dead now? And what was about Voldemort? Fear, hope and confusion filled his mind.

But they all vanished again, as the door of the infirmary opened and Professor Snape entered. Harry knitted his eyebrows and folded his arms, watching his professor approach.

Professor Snape didn't show any emotion. His concern about the boy and his relief that Harry was awake were well hidden behind a neutral mask.

"Mr. Potter, you are again among the living?" he asked.

The boy pressed his lips together, turning his gaze away and staring instead at the opposite wall.

"I hope your anger is about your unbelievable stupidity in going for the stone on your own," Snape said.

Harry shot his teacher an angry look. "There was no one left who would have stopped Quirrell, was there?"

Now Severus knitted his own eyebrows together. "It wasn't necessary to stop anybody. The stone was perfectly safe until you got yourself involved."

Harry looked away again, growling to himself. It was silent for a while. Severus studied the boy before him until he finally asked: "You do realize that Professor Quirrell would never have been able to obtain the stone?"

"Did you realize that it wasn't just Quirrell? That Voldemort was poking out of the back of his head?" Harry shot back.

"Don't call him by that name!" Severus growled, furious.

Harry and Severus glared at each other.

"Dumbledore calls him -" Harry started but was interrupted by Severus.

"But you are not Professor Dumbledore!"

Harry sighed, frustrated, and Severus took some deep breaths to calm himself. It wouldn't help to yell as it would only cause Poppy to throw him out.

"Why did you go, Harry?" Severus asked and Harry noticed that he sounded somehow sad.

"Why did _you_ go?" Harry answered back, challengingly. "I thought I could trust you, but you went and talked with my uncle behind my back."

"I did nothing-" Severus started to explain but Harry interrupted.

"I trusted you!" he yelled with tears in his eyes.

"Yes. And _I_ trusted _you_!" Severus clarified.

"Then why did you break your promise?" Harry asked, hurt.

"I didn't. I promised you that I would do whatever I could to take you away from there and I _did_ all in my powers, but unfortunately I don't have the final say." Severus explained.

"What do you mean?" Harry asked, confused.

"Professor Dumbledore doesn't want to cause a public stir, so we cannot press charges against the Dursleys. But that means that you have to go back-"

Harry opened his mouth to protest, but Severus held up his hand. "Please, Harry. Let me finish."

Harry nodded reluctantly and Severus went on, "As I said, you have to go back to the Dursleys for two weeks. Two weeks where you just have to sleep in your bed. During the days you are free to come over to Mrs. Figg's house, where I will stay during the two weeks. After this time we will get a house where we will stay for the rest of the summer holidays."

Harry was speechless for the first moment. Was it possible? Professor Snape still believed him and not uncle Vernon? But why? Everybody who talked with uncle Vernon believed that Harry was a liar. Nobody was on Harry's side after meeting with Vernon Dursley.

"So… you still believe me?" Harry asked incredulously.

"Of course I do. Why wouldn't I? I have seen with my own eyes what this uncle of yours did to you. Nothing he said could have changed my mind", Severus assured.

Harry closed his eyes and tears streamed down his cheeks. "I'm sorry" he sniffed.

Severus sighed. "Yes, _now_ you are."

"You're going to punish me, aren't you?" Harry asked timidly.

"I promised you I would, didn't I?" Severus answered.

Harry closed his eyes and nodded his head resignedly. Professor Snape had promised him a spanking if Harry went near Fluffy again. Harry hadn't thought about that before he and his friends went through the trapdoor, but now he remembered Snape's words clearly and he shuddered. _Nothing will ever change. Somehow I always get myself into trouble._

Severus also didn't like the idea. He had promised Harry a spanking, and if it had been any of his Snakes he would have administered it without a second thought. But this case was far more complicated. Harry didn't break his promise just because he had felt like it. He was concerned about the stone and his own safety and because the only person he had started to trust had disappeared without a word.

Severus realized he would have to think things through before he made a decision, so he said to the boy, "First of all, it is important that you regain your full strength. Then we will discuss this incident and its consequences."

Harry nodded unhappily, and Severus stood up to get Madam Pomfrey.


	14. A Hard Decision

A Hard Decision.

After Severus left the hospital wing he went out into the fresh air to think about what to do with Harry. Should he spank the boy? Harry need to learn to trust Severus' word. Severus was a man who prided himself on always keeping his promises. But why did it feel wrong to him to do as he had promised when it came to Harry's well deserved punishment? When he punished his Snakes, he never gave it a second thought. What was different with Harry?

Did he feel more responsible to do everything right for Harry? But he felt responsible for his Snakes, too.

Maybe his hesitation was caused by the guilt he felt? He hadn't been available when the boy needed him. He really should have explained things to Harry before he'd left, but there had been no time. That damned Albus had come to him early in the morning and informed him that they would be visiting the Dursleys immediately. Severus had tried to talk some sense into the old man, but Albus answered all his arguments with the same answer: This is the only possible solution that doesn't raise any suspicious. So Severus had been far too distracted to think of informing Harry before they left for the Dursleys.

The second thing he couldn't have foreseen was the stubbornness and the disobliging nature of the small-brained muggles. As soon as Petunia recognized Severus she had ranted for a good hour about not wanting him in her house.

Severus shook his head. He really didn't want to think about her now. It was Harry and a proper punishment for him that he needed to be thinking about. _What will happen if I do not spank the boy?_ _What good come of this decision? Will Harry still learn to trust me and my word?_

Well, if he changed his mind, then Harry would learn that even adults make wrong decisions and that not all adults hide their mistakes. It would show Severus in a light in which Severus wasn't sure he wanted to be shown. He was always a person of authority and not someone who might admit to error. Backing down from a promised punishment was a dangerous precedent to set with any student.

But then, Harry was more than just any student. Severus sighed. Realizing for the first time where he had gone. It was a small open area of grass at the side of the lake. Severus used to meet here with Lily in his schooldays.

"Oh Lily, what would you do?" Severus said to himself. "I know James Potter got spanked by his dad, when he misbehaved - not that it changed anything in his attitude - and maybe James would spank Harry too. But if he were alive this whole situation would be different."

Severus sank into the grass and tried to remember Lily before she married James; before everything spun out of control when Severus called Lily a mudblood. Severus closed his eyes and let his mind drift away.

…

"_Hi, Sev, how was your holiday?" Lily asked._

"_Hi, Lily, don't ask," Sev said with a pained expression. Sitting down next to Lily on the grass and pulling off his shoes, he put his feet into the cool water of the lake._

"_What happened? Did he go after you again?" Lily whispered._

"_He got himself drunk again, yes," Severus said without going into more details, but Lily already knew what he meant._

"_I heard James got himself in trouble again with his dad."_

"_So what? You can't compare his spanking with what _my_ so called dad did."_

"_No, of course not. You know, I really don't see the point of hitting a child. Beating or spanking, all of it seems wrong. What does it change in anybody? Do you get the impression James is different after a spanking? He's still the same arrogant and careless fool he was before. I admit I have no idea what would be a proper punishment for someone like James, but spanking does nothing to him. A smarting behind for one or two hours and all is forgotten. That's rubbish!"_

"_Well, I would be happy to witness one of James' spankings. Here in school he never really gets punished for anything," Severus said, offended._

"_Oh, Sev." Playfully Lily splashed some water at Severus._

"_Hey!" Severus protested but Lily giggled._

_Then both of them went silent for a while, until Lily said "If I ever have children, I will never raise a hand against them."_

"_So what will you do if one of your children does something dangerous or something that would bring others into danger?" Severus asked curiously._

"_I will talk to them first, or if I was too angry at them, I'd send them to their rooms until I calmed down and then talk to them."_

"_And what will you do if talking doesn't get you anywhere?" Severus pricked his ears._

"_Take away some privileges, something that really means something to them, until I can trust them again," Lily said confidently._

"_In James' case it would be his broom?" Severus asked._

"_That or the annoying snitch he always plays with," Lily agreed._

"_And if this still doesn't work?"_

"_Then I would take away more privileges."_

"_But then he will get more bored and play more pranks to entertain himself."_

"_Well, then he will get chores that keep his mind occupied!"_

"_And when he refuses to do the chores?"_

_Lily arched an eyebrow at Severus. "You ask a lot of questions. I hope my children would love me enough not to be so disrespectful."_

_Severus smirked. "Do you think James doesn't love his dad?"_

_Lily got serious. "I think something isn't right between them. Why would James behave like that, if he respects and loves his dad? And why would James' dad spank him and then ignore everything if he really loves James? I think parents who love their children shouldn't just spank them and then say 'okay, all forgotten.' Parents who really care about their children should try to point out the mistake in their child's behavior and give the child a chance to see their mistake and its consequents. A child should learn to ask questions and not fear his parents!"_

_Severus whistled. "Wow, you will be a brilliant mother!"_

_Lily giggled again "Thanks. But first of all I need the right boy!"_

_Severus looked at Lily questioningly "So? What about me then?"_

_Lily smiled warmly at Severus but didn't answer._

…

With this lingering image of Lily's smile Severus left his musings. He had nearly forgotten about this talk with Lily. And he was very grateful that he remembered now, because now he had his question answered about what Lily would do.

But Lily was a different person from Severus.

Severus still wasn't sure what he should decide. He wondered what kind of person he would have become if Lily had married him instead of James, but then he stopped himself again. What was the point thinking about what could have happened? He was here and now, and he had to come up with a decision.

So the question was still whether to spank Harry so he would learn that Severus was a man who stands by his words, or to not spank Harry but talk about his mistake instead. But Harry knew his mistake already, Severus was sure. And what was the consequence of Harry's mistake? Severus learned that Harry still didn't trust him enough. So neither could Severus trust Harry entirely. But that meant the two would have to work to build that trust.

But what way would make Harry trust Severus more?

A grumbling stomach signaled Severus that dinner was served, and the professor headed back to the castle. At the sight of his colleagues, that is at the sight of Minerva, a new thought hit Severus. How would Ron and Hermione get punished?

"Severus, how is Harry? I still hadn't time to visit him." Minerva asked as Severus took his seat beside her.

"He is fine. I… erm, I wanted to ask you something. Can we talk after dinner?"

Minerva looked questioningly at her colleague but nodded. They met later in McGonagall's office.

-oxo-

"So, Severus. What can I do for you?" Minerva asked curiously.

"I wanted to know how you handled this whole situation with the stone," Severus replied.

"You mean how I punished my lions?" At Severus' nod, Minerva went on, "Well, you know I do not approve of corporal punishment, but I had to admit I felt the urge to smack them this time. But of course I didn't."

"So what did you do instead?"

"I informed their parents. Mr. Weasley's mother came to Hogwarts the day Mr. Weasley left the hospital wing. She asked me if she could use my office for a _talk_ with her son. Young Weasley left my office walking rather stiffly, so I presume that this 'talk' involved more than just words."

Severus nodded while Minerva continued, "Mr. Granger asked me if it was okay for him to wait to discuss the situation with his daughter until Ms. Granger got home. I agreed, so I don't know what punishment awaits her. But he didn't sound like he planned to spank the girl. He seemed to be more concerned about the danger his daughter had got herself into.

"As for breaking the school rules I took points and assigned three detentions to Mr. Weasley and Ms. Granger. I plan to do the same with Mr. Potter, so I delayed the detentions until Mr. Potter is fit to join his friends."

Again Severus just nodded. So one child was spanked, the other probably not. So he still didn't know what to do with Harry.

"May I ask what you plan to do with Mr. Potter?" Minerva was curious. She thought it was plain what Severus would do, but why was he here asking her about what _she_ did?

"I admit I haven't decided yet," Severus said uncomfortably.

"No? Weren't you the one talking about rules and consequences? You seemed to have a clear mind about what kind of punishment you would give out. So why are you still thinking about what to do?"

"Because nothing is easy when it comes to Potter," Severus sighed.

Minerva arched an eyebrow and studied Severus questioningly.

"I promised Potter early this school year that I would spank him if he got near Fluffy again. But I've learned so much about the boy during the school year. He is sensitive and emotionally fragile. And mostly he acted with the intention to protect his friends. They mean everything to him. No adult can mess with a friend of Potter. He learned for ten years that he could not trust adults. So I fear I expected too much of him trusting me. This whole stone incident went out of control because of me."

"You?" Minerva's eyes grew wide.

"Yes. I asked Potter to come to me if he felt the stone wasn't safe any longer. But then I wasn't there."

"You were at the Dursleys," Minerva remembered.

"Yes. And you told him so," Severus said, still angry about this act of indiscretion.

"He was so upset. How was I to know he would go after the stone because of that?"

"I don't think that was the only reason why Harry did it, but with the feeling of betrayal the last thing holding him back fell away."

"So you don't want to spank the boy because you feel guilty?" Minerva asked.

Severus looked tortured. "I don't know."

It was silent for a while, but then Minerva asked: "Why did you decided to spank your Snakes as punishment in the first place? Do you think it helps you and your students?"

Severus looked at Minerva for a long time: "Most parents of my Snakes expect me to keep a strong hold over the students. And most of my Snakes fear this punishment and keep themselves out of trouble to avoid it. I rarely have to administer a spanking. Only a few of my Snakes earn themselves a spanking twice, so I believe it is an effective instrument to keep my students in line."

"But you don't think it would keep Mr. Potter in line?"

"Maybe it would, but at what cost? Most of my students trust me. They trust me to keep them safe and they trust that I act in their interest. But Harry does not trust me that much, why would he? Those stupid muggles damaged this boy so much. Somehow I think it is more important to gain the boy's full trust before I can start on working on his behavior. I'm not sure, but I think that the key of keeping the boy out of trouble lies in gaining his full trust. But how do I gain his full trust? Isn't the best way of gaining trust always keeping your word?"

"I see your problem," Minerva confessed. "But this way is more the authoritarian one. There are other ways to gain someone's trust. To show the boy that even you can make mistakes and are ready to admit them, would be a different way, a more amicable one. And you said no adult could mess with a friend of Potter, so maybe you should take that route. But in the end it is your own decision, nobody can make it for you, because regardless of what you choose, you should stand fully behind your actions. In my opinion this is the most important thing - not to show uncertainty."

Severus thought about that for some time but finally he stood up and said. "Thank you for your time, Minerva."

"Anytime, Severus," Minerva answered, "And good luck."

-oxo-

Harry was sitting nervously in his chair next to Professor Snape's desk. Madam Pomfrey had released him just a few hours ago. He had been at lunch with his friends when he received Professor Snape's message to meet him in his office after classes.

Severus was seated in his chair behind the desk and studied the nervous bundle before him.

"Harry, I'm sure you realized by now that you still do not trust me, regardless whether you wish to or not," Severus started and noticed that the boy gulped and braced himself for a long lecture. "I know, I cannot expect wonders and it will take time for you to learn how to trust. I'm used to gaining and keeping trust by sticking to my word and I expect others to keep theirs in return."

Severus paused as he noticed Harry opened his mouth and closed it with a snap again, "What is it?" Severus asked.

Harry blushed. He hadn't thought that he was allowed to join in the conversation. "Erm…" he stuttered uncertainly.

Severus didn't continue but waited for Harry, and eventually the boy asked, "Why didn't you just tell me where you went? You just vanished. I wanted to talk to you. I really wanted to. But you were missing. I'd just learned that Hagrid got the dragon's egg because he told the stranger how to calm Fluffy. I sprinted to your office immediately but you weren't here. I felt so lost," Harry admitted in a hurt voice.

Severus sighed inwardly. He already assumed how Harry must have felt, but to hear it from the boy made it all clear again how desperate this boy had been.

"I never relied on somebody before and it's not nice to find out that this _somebody_ vanished the moment I needed him most. Even Dumbledore wasn't there and McGonagall didn't believe us. You see? I really tried. I tried not to act independently, but there was nobody who would help me." Harry hung his head and a lonely tear escaped his eye. "It was like always: nobody was there." The last words were barely audible but Severus heard them nonetheless.

"And then you learned from Professor McGonagall where I was," Severus said to break the silence.

Harry nodded. "I felt betrayed. Nobody who talked with my uncle was still on my side afterwards. I was sure it would be the same with you," he admitted guiltily.

"I can understand why you would feel that way. But I still wonder why your trust into me is so limited."

"I don't know either. I guess Hermione's doubt infected me somehow. And when you weren't here when I needed you, the doubt took me over."

"Ms. Granger's doubt?" Severus repeated, arching an eyebrow.

"Well, Hermione asked me to be more careful around you. She thought it possible that you were just pretending to be there for me. She was concerned. At first I didn't listen to her. But when you vanished, all her words came back. I didn't know what to think anymore."

The more the boy explained, the more Severus understood Harry's situation. The boy really had felt lost. He felt the urge to hug Harry and at the same time to strangle Ms. Granger and Minerva.

"Harry, I am not just pretending to care about you," Severus said firmly. "I really do care for you. I was as shocked as you were when I learned Professor Dumbledore's plan. The headmaster visited me early in the morning. I tried to argue but without success. So we left. It was before breakfast. I had no time to tell you anything and I admit I didn't think about it. But in the evening I somehow felt your distress, that's why I asked Professor McGonagall to check on you. I should have come back immediately."

More tears found their way down Harry's cheeks. "I'm really sorry," the boy whispered.

"I know you are," Severus replied and a long silence followed.

Harry chewed on his under lip while Severus' gaze went distant.

"Professor?" Harry broke the silence.

Severus focused back on the boy.

"What will happen now?" Harry's voice was shaking.

"You mean the spanking I promised you?" Severus asked.

Harry closed his eyes for a short moment and then nodded once.

"That's the question of the day, isn't it?" Severus said.

"Sir?" Harry didn't understand.

"Harry, we both made mistakes. And maybe I asked too much of you with these promises you gave to me. I wanted you to stay out of danger and I wanted you to learn to trust me. Therefore you should learn that I mean what I say. I promised you something and I should stick to my word."

Harry nodded and gulped. _Better to get it over with,_ he thought and stood up. Before Severus could react, the boy placed himself over the desk, bracing for the first blow.

"Harry, what-" Severus started but was interrupted by the boy.

"I'm sorry, Sir!" Harry stood up again and started to unbutton his trousers.

Severus took both of Harry's hands and said, "Stop that!"

"Sir?" Harry was bewildered and fearful.

"I never actually said I was going to spank you," Severus pointed out.

"But you said you should stick to your word so I can learn to trust you. I want to trust you, Sir, really! Please believe me!" Harry sobbed desperately.

"Shhhhh, child! I do believe you!" Severus said and pulled Harry into a hug. "But I hope you will learn to trust me even if I don't spank you."

"But you promised…" Harry said still confused.

Severus suddenly acted on impulse; he turned Harry around and applied two light swats to Harry's rear end. Then he turned the boy back and hugged him again. "There. Happy now!" he asked in a soft teasing voice.

Shocked that he got out of trouble so easily, Harry started crying heartbrokenly, snuggling deeper into Severus' embrace. Severus didn't know how long he stood there, holding the boy against his chest. The more Harry cried the more uncertain Severus got. Did he do the right thing? Was it wrong to deliver those two smacks? Or would it have been better for the boy if he had gotten a real spanking?

But as Severus had watched Harry placing himself over the desk, Severus had felt it was wrong. He realized that he could never spank the boy. Harry was far too hurt and scarred already from the muggles.

Finally Severus sat down again, taking the boy onto his lap. He started to rub circles on Harry's back to help him calm down. It took Harry some time but in the end his sobs eased and the boy went silent, except some hiccups.

-o-

"Harry?"

Harry pressed his face deeper into the fabric of Severus' cloak. He felt so ashamed, he was sure he wasn't able to look at Snape ever again. He had acted like a baby and made a fool out of himself.

He hadn't let Professor Snape finish and misunderstood the direction of the talk. He had been so sure Snape would spank him. And he really did not consider those two swats a spanking because they didn't hurt a bit. These two swats made it clear to Harry that Snape was not about to spank him. But why didn't he? Harry still didn't understand. What was his punishment instead?

"Harry, come on. Look at me!" Severus said and tried to pull Harry a bit away to look the boy into the eyes.

"No!" Harry mumbled and clung to Severus chest in a strong hold.

"Harry James Potter. Stop this hide-and-seek. You are a Gryffindor; where is your courage?"

Still the boy didn't move or loosen his grip. Severus sighed. Then an idea struck him. If he stood up, the boy would slide down. But as Severus stood up the boy's feet came around the professor and then Harry hung from him like a spider monkey.

"Harry, really. How old are you?" Severus sighed, but Harry just mumbled something unintelligible.

"Shall I go to the Great Hall in this fashion? Maybe you want to sit on my lap while I spoon-feed you?" Severus asked teasingly.

At these words Harry's head suddenly shot up, just missing Severus chin "You would do that?" he asked innocently, eyes wide.

Severus had thought Harry would protest immediately at this suggestion and finally let go of him, so he was stunned by the boy's question. "Erm… no!"

"Too bad," Harry pouted.

Severus took a step forward and placed Harry on his desktop. Harry loosened his grip and let himself sit down.

"Too bad? Harry, what are you talking about? Wouldn't that be embarrassing?"

Harry just shook one shoulder. "What does it matter?" he said in a low voice.

Severus carefully placed two fingers under the boy's chin and lifted Harry's head. "What's wrong?"

Harry looked at his professor but then cast his eyes down. "I don't want to go back _there,_" he whispered.

"I know," Severus said and released Harry's chin again. Then it grew silent in Snape's office for a long time. Harry swung his legs back and forth, thinking.

Suddenly Harry jerked his head. "Why Mrs. Figg? Why will you stay with her? She's a muggle."

"Well, not exactly. She can't cast spells, but she knows the wizarding world, because she is a squib."

"What's that?" Harry asked, confused.

"A squib is someone born in a wizard family without any magical talents. It's the reverse of being a _muggleborn_ wizard," Severus explained.

Harry knitted his eye brows, "Does she know that I'm a wizard?"

"Yes."

Harry's legs stopped swinging immediately. The boy looked shocked by the news.

"Why did she never tell me then?" he asked in a hurt voice.

"She wasn't allowed to," Severus said gently.

Harry shook his head in disbelief, "Why not? It would have made things a whole lot easier. If I had known before that magic really exists and that I'm a wizard, I would have understood what happened to me. I would have had someone to talk to. Maybe it would have helped me with the accidental magic. And then Uncle Vernon wouldn't have been so angry with me. Why wasn't I allowed to know?"

Severus sighed. He shook his head to show the outraged boy that he didn't know either.

Harry folded his arms and looked like he wanted to kill someone. He didn't look at his professor as he knew Snape was innocent, so he stared holes into the floor.

"Why can't I stay at Hogwarts? It is safe, isn't it?" Harry asked, still grumpy.

"During the holidays with most teachers away the wards aren't as strong as during the school year."

"But why do I have to stay the two weeks at the Dursleys? Why can't we move right to this house you said?"

"Professor Dumbledore has to check the wards first and spruce it up a bit," Severus explained.

Harry cast a skeptical eye at Snape. "And this takes him two weeks?"

Severus couldn't help it; he smiled at the boy. "Probably not."

"But why-" Harry started.

Severus put his two hands up and Harry stopped midsentence. Then the professor sighed and paced the room. "What did Professor Dumbledore told you about the events of your encounter with Professor Quirrell? Did he tell you why the Professor couldn't touch you without being hurt?"

"Erm… He told me that my mother left some kind of protection on me as she died," Harry remembered.

"Yes. But to refresh this protection you have to live with your mother's bloodline. And the only living relatives of the same bloodline are your aunt Petunia Dursley and cousin Dudley."

Harry frowned, deep in thought. "But," he started again, "why do I need this protection? Do you think Vol… I mean… You-Know-Who… do you think he will try and attack me again?"

"What do _you_ think, Harry?" Severus returned the question.

Harry pouted. "This sucks! Why me? What did I do to him, that he wants me dead? Why can't he just leave me alone? It's not like I'm hunting him down or something."

Severus went silent and studied the boy. Harry was young and Severus understood why Dumbledore didn't want to tell Harry about the prophecy. But Severus also knew that sooner or later Harry had to know about it, but… maybe later.

"At first the Dark Lord has to find a way to come back. Until then he won't be able to hurt you, but you still have to be careful. Nobody knows what he is up to this time."

"I never asked about that," Harry said in a sad voice.

"I know, but do you realize that your mother saved a lot of people? With her death and her protection over you she overthrew the Dark Lord's plans. For over ten years nothing was heard or seen of the Dark Lord. So maybe it will be ten more years before he will actually find a way back. You should feel proud about her. I understand that you miss her, but that tragic night did accomplish great good."

Harry looked pained, but slowly he nodded. "She saved thousands of people."

A single tear found its way down the boy's cheek. Angrily Harry swept it away. Then it went silent once more.

"You-know-who promised me to bring back my mother and my father if I handed the stone over to him," Harry told him in a low voice.

"He did?"

"Yeah, and I was tempted to give in."

"So why didn't you?" Severus asked curiously.

"Because it felt wrong. As much as I wish my parents to live, I do not really know them. But I know people I care deeply for. And the idea that this monster could hurt them if he would get back to his full power was unbearable."

Severus looked at Harry in astonishment. This little boy had the same big heart as his mother and despite his young age he was very wise.

"I'm proud of you!" Severus suddenly said, and in that moment he really was.

"You are?" Harry asked uncertainly. Nobody had ever said something like that to him.

Severus just nodded and before he could react, small arms wrapped around him. He hugged Harry back but as the boy didn't want to release him again, he sighed and said "No, not again!"

Harry chuckled but didn't let go.


	15. End of Term

**End of Term**

It was the last week of Hogwarts. Madam Pomfrey hadn't much to do since no patient was lying in any of the beds in the hospital wing, but she was still waiting. She had made it clear to one of the students that he was to meet with her at the end of term and she had begun to fear that the student had forgotten their appointment.

Out of concern that there might be some side effects from the inoculations, it would not be wise to wait until the last day. Sighing, she turned to the fireplace and threw some floo powder into it.

"Severus Snape," she called and waited.

After some time the head of the potion master appeared. "Yes? What do you need? Did someone manage to hurt himself in the last week of term?" Severus sneered.

"No. No. Everything is quiet here. In fact it is too quiet. Have you seen Mr. Potter lately?" Madam Pomfrey asked with a small line of worry between her eyes.

Alarmed, Severus' brows drew together. "Not out of lessons, why?"

"Well, he still hasn't shown up for his inoculations, and he shouldn't wait any longer as we don't know how he will react to the vaccines. Will you ask him to see me, or shall I send him a note?"

"I will talk to the boy. He will be in the hospital wing after lunch!" Severus said definitely.

"Okay, thank you. I will prepare everything!"

-xox-

Severus sighed. He should have known that Harry would forget his inoculations. Even he had forgotten about them, after all the events of the last few days. Harry wasn't happy about the fact that he had to see his relatives again, although he knew that Severus would be nearby.

Severus found Harry outside with his friends near the lake. They sat in the grass in the shadow of the old oak tree. Harry started laughing, and Severus nearly froze as it sounded exactly like Lily. It was rare for Harry to laugh like this. Obviously he loved being with his friends.

Hermione was the one who first spotted Professor Snape's approach, and she tapped Harry on the shoulder, causing the boy to turn to look at Snape.

Severus was sure the smile would vanish immediately, but it didn't. Harry still smiled as he stood up and took some steps towards the Professor.

As Severus came to a halt, all three Gryffindors were standing.

"I'm sorry to disturb your little chat, but Madam Pomfrey asked me to remind you of your inoculations. I guaranteed that you would see her after lunch."

Now the smile on the boy's face vanished. "Today?" he asked nervously.

"Yes. Today. As there is the chance of side effects you should not wait any longer."

"Side effects?" the boy repeated uncomfortably.

"There may not be any, but it's better to get them over with," Severus suggested.

Harry lowered his head and wrapped his arms around his torso.

"It won't be that bad." Severus tried to encourage the boy.

But Harry just nodded once, not looking up again.

-oxo-

"Severus!" Madam Pomfrey's voice called for the second time that day. She sounded worried so Severus assumed Harry didn't show up.

"What is it? Do I have to look for Mr. Potter?"

"Well, no. But I need your help. Would you come through?"

Bewildered, Severus nodded and stepped into the fireplace. As he left Madam Pomfrey's office, he immediately spotted Harry on one of the beds. The boy was trembling and curled up into a small ball.

"I cannot calm him down. Maybe he will listen to you. It's impossible to inoculate him in this state."

"Harry?" Severus called the boy, but Harry didn't response. "Harry! It's Professor Snape. Would you please look at me?"

But there was still no reaction from the boy.

Severus touched Harry's shoulder and again called Harry's name.

This time the boy shivered and whispered. "I will be good. I will be good. Please, don't. I will be good. I promise." It was clear that the boy didn't know where he was or who was with him.

"I _know_ you are good. You came here as you promised, although you have fear. You _are_ good. You are brave. I'm proud of you!"

Now something clicked in Harry's mind. Nobody ever said that he was proud of him, nobody except… Snape. Slowly Harry raised his head, peering over his arms and searching for Severus' eyes.

"Professor?"

"Yes, Harry. Care to tell me what happened?" Severus asked and sat down at the end of Harry's bed.

The boy lowered his head again. "I'm sorry," he mumbled.

Severus shook his head. "There is nothing to be sorry for. I assume you have bad memories?"

Harry just nodded.

"But you can trust Madam Pomfrey. She will not hurt you."

"I don't like needles," Harry whispered.

"Who does?" Severus returned the question.

"Why can't I just drink a potion?"

The corners of Severus' mouth twitched into a smile. He had also wondered this when he was a child. But now he knew the answer. "Because the vaccine is too aggressive for your tongue and your throat. It belongs in your blood stream and there is just one way to do that."

"Can't you just spell the stuff into me?" Harry tried again, unaware that he was asking the same questions thousands of other wizard kids had already asked.

"That's impossible. I don't know the exact location of your veins and even if I did, they are very thin, and it would be too risky."

Harry sighed unhappily.

"Harry, what is the big deal? You faced down a lot of danger this year. One or two little stings are nothing compared with that. What are you afraid of?" Severus asked curiously.

"I don't know. I panic at the sight of needles."

"Well, you don't have to watch. I can talk to you while Madam Pomfrey-"

"No!" Harry shook his head vehemently.

"Harry, this has to be done. There is no way out of this."

"I don't want to!"

Now it was Severus who sighed. He looked into the frantic face of boy, and then an idea struck him.

"What if _I_ were the one to give you the injection? Would you trust _me_ not to hurt you?"

"Can you do it?" Harry asked, unsure.

"Well, I don't have as much experience as Madam Pomfrey, but I know what to do."

"And it won't hurt?" Harry asked, still skeptical.

"Not more than the sting of an insect. And I can heal it immediately afterwards if you wish. You will not feel anything when you are done, except a bit tired. So you should not have any plans for the rest of the day and if you feel in any way unwell you should come to Madam Pomfrey immediately so she can fix it, okay?"

Harry gulped but nodded. Severus took the tray with two syringes from Madam Pomfrey and placed it on the night stand.

"Where do you want it? In your arm, or…"

"In the arm!" Harry said before Severus could finish his sentence.

"But it would hurt less the other way."

Harry still shook his head adamantly.

Madam Pomfrey gave Severus a little piece of cotton which smelled of alcohol. "As you wish," with these words Severus cleaned a spot on Harry's upper arm and took up the first vaccination.

Harry stared at the long needle, and his eyes grew larger the closer the needle got. Then he squeezed his eyes shut, unable to stand the sight any longer. He prepared himself for the pain and waited. He felt a faint sting in his arm, but shortly after that he just felt Snape's fingers pressing against his skin.

"Here you go. For the second jab I need your other arm."

Surprised, Harry opened his eyes. That was it? He looked at Snape with wide eyes. As the professor took the second syringe, Harry closed his eyes again but this time he didn't screw them shut. It felt just like the first jab, and as Harry opened his eyes again he couldn't believe that it didn't hurt more. In his memories the school doctor always slammed the needle into his arm in such a way that Harry got bruises which lasted for weeks.

"Do you need healing?" Severus asked, as he watched Harry look closely at his arms.

"No, I barely felt anything," Harry said, still astonished. But then he lowered his head. Once again he had made a fool of himself. Why did he get in such a panic over some stupid needles?

"I'm sorry," he whispered.

"And may I ask what you are sorry for?" Severus asked, perplexed.

"That I freaked out."

"Believe me, you are not the first and won't be the last. Your father, for example, was the same, and he didn't have bad memories like you. He was just a coward when it came to needles. But you are no coward. You showed a large amount of trust today, and I'm proud of you."

Harry smiled shyly. "You've said that a lot in the last few days."

"Well, I am!"

A little tear of happiness escaped Harry's eye. He still couldn't believe that someone would say such a thing to him, but he knew Snape wouldn't say it if he didn't mean it. Harry felt so grateful towards Professor Snape. The professor had done so much for him already.

Severus stroked the single tear away, brushing over Harry's cheek. He was astonished at Harry's display of trust. After his talk with Harry and his decision not to spank the boy, it seemed the child had learned to trust him. Severus had never imaged that, but Harry's trust was like a gift the boy had given him.

-oxo-

At dinner Harry felt awfully tired but happy in a strange way.

"Everything okay?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah. I'm just tired. Professor Snape said I may feel like this after the inoculations. So I guess everything is fine."

"You're sure? You look a bit green in the face."

"Leave him alone, Hermione. He got an inoculation against dragon pox, and it's a normal reaction, it will vanish after a good sleep," Ron told the girl. He too had gotten a little green in the face after his dragon pox inoculation.

"But-" Hermione started to argue but stopped midsentence as Harry's face landed in his plate.

"That's also a normal reaction?" Hermione asked angrily and then shook Harry at his shoulder, but her friend didn't respond.

Ron didn't know what to say now. Hermione looked at the teacher's table for help. It was Snape who noticed her look. As the Professor caught sight at Harry he stood up immediately and rushed over.

"What happened?" he said while he felt for Harry's pulse.

"He was extremely tired and looked a bit green in the face," Hermione explained.

Carefully Professor Snape pulled Harry out of his dinner. He noticed a trace of saliva at the corners of Harry's mouth.

"Did he say anything about a strange taste?" the professor wanted to know.

"I don't think he ate anything, Sir. He just stared at his food before he blacked out."

"We need to bring him to the infirmary," Severus said and pulled Harry into his arms.

The Gryffindors stared at the strange sight. The most hated Slytherin Professor carrying a Gryffindor in his arms. But the strangest thing was the worry written all over his face.

"You never do things the easy way, do you?" Severus asked Harry's still form as he hurried through the corridors with Hermione and Ron at his heels.

"What happed?" Madame Pomfrey asked as Severus called her.

"A bad reaction to the dragon pox vaccine," Severus explained, "It seems he is also running a fever."

"Oh, dear. He doesn't look good," Madam Pomfrey said.

"Why is Harry reacting so badly?" Hermione asked while the medi witch waved her wand up and down Harry's body.

"Maybe because he still underweight," Professor Snape answered. He had been shocked at the boy's light weight as he carried Harry to the hospital wing.

"Yes. I shall give him a Vitamin-Cocktail and the fever reducer. But that's all I can do. Then we have to wait and see."

"We want to stay with him!" Hermione said.

"I don't think-" Madam Pomfrey started but Severus interrupted her, "Just until curfew! Then I will take over."

The children nodded. Madam Pomfrey glared at Severus but vanished into her office without another word.

-xox-

Harry woke up in the middle of the night, sneezing. Then he yelped terrified as he noticed some sparks coming from his nose as he sneezed.

At that Severus woke and his head shot up, scaring Harry again. A second yelp escaped the boy.

"Harry, what is it?" Severus asked alarmed.

"There were sparks. When I sneezed, sparks came out. I got the dragon pox!" Harry panicked.

"Calm down, child. You are not ill. These reactions to the vaccine are similar to the symptoms of the dragon pox, but they will vanish in a day."

"Did you know this would happen?" the boy asked, still worried.

"No. Normally you wouldn't react that badly but you are still malnourished. Aren't you eating regularly?"

"I do, but I wasn't very hungry the last few days."

"It's important for you to get regular meals. If you aren't hungry then you will need a potion."

"What for? I won't be able to eat much when I'm back at the Dursleys," Harry suddenly cried angrily.

"Says who?" Severus demanded to know.

"They do. They don't want me to eat their food," Harry said.

"So you are starving yourself to prepare for these unhealthy conditions?" Severus asked.

Harry didn't answer. Severus looked sternly at the boy. "You will eat properly even at the Dursleys. Professor Dumbledore made that clear to your relatives."

The boy looked unsure. "I don't think I will have much appetite, when I'm back."

"I know, I understand. But you have to watch your health. You can get seriously ill if you don't eat properly."

Harry hung his head. A silence grew between professor and student.

"What time is it?" Harry asked suddenly.

"I don't know exactly, but I guess it's about two o'clock in the morning."

Surprised, Harry looked at Severus. He wondered why the professor was with him in the middle of the night.

"How are you feeling?" Severus asked.

"I'm cold, but okay."

Severus felt Harry's forehead. "Your skin is still very hot. I will bring you a fever reducer." At this Severus stood up and went to Madam Pomfrey's office. Shortly after he came back with a vial in his hand. He handed it to Harry and the boy drank it, making a face at the awful taste.

"Where is Madam Promfrey?" Harry asked curiously.

"I told her to go to sleep as I will watch over you." Severus informed.

"You don't have to. I mean it's nice, but… aren't you tired too?" Harry asked, uneasy.

"I'm your guardian. I am responsible for you. I will stay with you until you feel better."

"Nobody ever did that," the boy whispered, touched. "The Dursleys sent me out of the way, mostly to my cupboard. But if I was terribly ill they'd send me for a _cure_, as they called it. It meant they'd send me to Aunt Marge. She was happy filling me with medicine which tasted awful and if I didn't obey her…"

"Don't tell she beat you even if you were ill," Severus said, alarmed.

The boy hung his head again but didn't answer.

"I will make sure you will never see that woman again. She belongs in a madhouse."

A small chuckle escaped Harry at Severus' furious tone. It was so good to have the professor on his side. In Harry's eyes he was the best guardian in the world.

"I mean it!" Severus snapped. "I wonder how you ever got well at her hand."

"I wonder myself, but as horrible as it was, her ice bath mostly cured my fever. And when I had chicken pox she tied my hands to my back, so I couldn't scratch. It was terrible and my whole body itched, but the spots went away very fast. After two days she untied my hands, but she caught me once or twice as I scratched absentmindedly at the nearly healed skin. I begged her not to tie my hands again and she agreed, but she spanked me with her slipper for every single time I scratched."

Harry didn't notice the angry look on Severus face as he told his story. Severus was boiling inside. He wished he could give some of these tortures back to this unbelievable woman. How was it possible that someone like her could run free?

"Harry, do you understand that her methods were completely inhuman and pure torture?" Severus demanded.

"It felt like torture to me, but it helped me," Harry said.

"There are many other ways to cope with illness. Filling you up with medicines you do not need and harming you isn't okay. If you had told a policeman your aunt would have been sent straight to prison."

"But-" Harry started, only to be interrupted again.

"No buts. Torturing people is a crime!"

Harry jerked at Severus' hard tone. Now he noticed the angry look of his professor. While Harry wondered why Snape cared that deeply about his past, Severus went on. "It's shocking that adults can have this power over a child and silence them effectively with the threat of punishment. And it's more shocking that children don't realize when adults break the law. But how should they?"

"You already said I don't have to see her again. So it's okay," Harry tried to calm Snape down, but it didn't work.

"No, it's definitely _not_ okay!"

Harry sighed. He would never have imaged that someone would rail against the unfairness of his life so vehemently like Professor Snape was doing now. Harry guessed the best thing to do was to let his professor rant.

Severus realized he had lost his temper and took some deep breaths to calm himself down again. He should not lose his composure in front of Harry. What would the boy think of him?

"Sorry!" Severus finally said.

Harry smiled at him and then he scrambled closer so he could hug his professor. He was happy that Snape was showing normal human feelings in his presence, not like in lessons where the professor hid his true self behind an emotionless mask.

Severus laid an arm around Harry while with his other hand he stroked Harry's hair. The boy closed his eyes and a moment later he was fast asleep again.

-o-

The next time Harry woke it was morning. A plate with breakfast was on his night stand but there was no sign of Snape or Madam Pomfrey. Wondering, Harry sat up only to notice the bed next to him was occupied. He felt for his glasses and put them on his nose and recognized the form of his professor sleeping peacefully in the bed.

"Oh good, you are awake!" Madam Pomfrey came into the room. "How are you feeling?"

"Erm… better!" Harry said.

"You look better, too. The greenish tint has vanished. You should eat at least half of your plate. And drink your vitamin cocktail," Madam Pomfrey commanded.

Harry nodded, and then looked back at Snape. No wonder the man was sleeping now, he had stayed with Harry the whole night.

"Your guardian will be all right when he wakes up, but don't be too loud. He wakes easily."

Harry nodded again. Madam Pomfrey checked Harry's fever and was pleased to learn that it was gone too.

"After breakfast, you are free to go," she informed the boy and then disappeared back into her office.

When Harry had finished his breakfast, he was unsure what to do. He looked at his professor and wondered if he should wait until Snape woke up or if he should leave the infirmary.

"What are you waiting for? You heard Madam Pomfrey. You are free to go," Severus suddenly said and opened his eyes, looking at Harry.

"You're awake?" Harry asked surprised.

"As Madam Pomfrey said: I wake easily. But why the woman had to inform you of this in such a loud voice is beyond me."

Harry smiled. He was relieved that Snape didn't wake up because of him.

"So are you trying to get some more sleep?" Harry asked.

At these words Severus sat up in the bed. "No. Definitely not here."

Harry chuckled. He had to agree that Snape didn't fit in at the infirmary.

"But aren't you tired, Sir?"

"I will survive." Professor Snape stood up and walked to the door out of the hospital wing. Harry followed him automatically.

-oxo-

The rest of the week spun by and soon Harry found himself packing his things.

"I can't believe that it's over," Ron said happily.

"Yeah," Harry grumbled. He wasn't excited to go _home_.

"I will miss you! I write you every day! I will ask mum if you can visit us. I would like to show you our house and my room," Ron went on.

"That would be nice. But I'm not sure I'll be allowed to." Harry had not asked Snape if he would be able to see his friend over the holidays.

Harry was in a trance-like state as he pulled his trunk down into the Great Hall. He was surrounded with happy chattering students and felt in an odd way misplaced. He was definitely not looking forward to see his uncle waiting for him at Kings Cross.

With his hands in his pocket he clutched at one little piece of paper. It was a note from Professor Snape. He would be coming to dinner at the Dursleys to see if everything was fine, at least as much as it could ever be for Harry.

---

AN: Well. That's it for now. The story will find an end here. But the sequell will be in work soon. So the story will go on. Propably not at fast as these last chapters, as my german version need my attention now. The start of the sequell will contains some similars to the second book but mostly it will stand on it's own.

In the end I will thank my beta reader kbinnz and I hope we will work together at the sequell too. And of course I thank you for reading my story and those who gave me reviews a special thanks.


	16. Sequel note

Just because I got asked more than once: The sequel is on for some time by now, named "Emerald and Onyx" .net/s/6037092/1/Emerald_and_Onyx


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